Senators aim to toughen marijuana laws

Getting caught smoking marijuana in Ann Arbor used to cost a paltry $5. In 1990, the city raised that amount to a still-lenient $25 fine with no jail time. Now some Michigan senators want to do away with Ann Arbor's liberal marijuana laws - making possession a misdemeanor instead of a civil infraction.

A bill proposed Wednesday by Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom (R-Temperance) would prohibit a local government from enforcing lesser penalties than those mandated by state laws. The bill would make Ann Arbor conform its marijuana possession laws with the rest of the state.

"There's a lot of inconsistency going on," Hammerstrom spokesperson Adrian Cazal said. "What kind of mixed message are we sending to our kids? If we want to be serious in fighting the war on drugs, then we have to be consistent."

The state of Michigan classifies marijuana possession as a misdemeanor offense carrying a $100 fine and up to 90 days in jail. Ann Arbor is the only city in Michigan that deviates from this penalty.

The proposal comes at the end of Marijuana Awareness Month and about five weeks before April's 28th annual Hash Bash on the Diag.

Cazal said it's too early to tell whether the bill could be in effect by this year's Hash Bash.

With the Republican-controlled Legislature, Cazal said, "It looks good for us to have it go through the Senate in a timely manner."

Although Ann Arbor is not specifically named in the bill, Sen. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton), a co-sponsor of the bill, said Ann Arbor is the intended target.

"We're hoping to discourage kids from participating in the Hash Bash this year," Rogers said.

Rogers said grandfather laws allow Ann Arbor to maintain the more lenient penalty.

"I want to make state laws uniform," Rogers said. "They're the only city that is allowed to have that law. We're just fixing this anomaly once and for all."

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Beth Hall said the change would have little affect on the way DPS officers patrol Hash Bash because the event takes place mostly on University grounds.

"Anyone caught smoking marijuana is arrested and prosecuted under state law," Hall said. "We get our power from the state, and we are required to enforce state law."

Hash Bash organizer James Millard, who owns the Pure Productions hemp paraphernalia store on South Fourth Street, said it's a move by senators "to come in and try to make legislation for their own political gains."

"Sen. Rogers is trying to deal with something that has nothing to do with the city of Ann Arbor," Millard said. "The University is doing everything the state wants them to do."

Millard said although people may use marijuana at Hash Bash, the event is not a public endorsement of smoking.

"We don't say whether that's right or wrong," Millard said. "I'm there for the freedom of speech. If people are stupid enough to smoke on University property, that's their fault."

But Rogers disagreed, saying history has shown that Hash Bash is about promoting drugs to young people, not an exercise of the First Amendment.

"That's not what this is. It's a sham," Rogers said. "For them to say that this is free speech is disingenuous."

Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon said she understands the reasoning behind the proposal.

"Sen. Hammerstrom is very concerned about sending mixed messages to young people," Sheldon said.

But Sheldon said the Legislature should not force Ann Arbor to conform with the state laws on this issue "when the same Legislature has enabled a city to make its own rules.

"We think we regulate it very nicely now," Sheldon said of the current penalty.

Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.) said she opposes the bill because it takes legislative power out of the hands of the city.

"The political party that insists on local control is saying that what Ann Arbor decides is not good enough," Smith said. "This is an overreach on the part of these senators. They need to get a life."

LSA sophomore Amy Feder said the state should not involve itself in issues of local control.

"It seems like if the state has that law, then Ann Arbor should too," Feder said. But "I think Ann Arbor knows what's best for itself."

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