Act today to help reform marijuana policy in Iowa City

We mentioned in our last alert that Iowa City officials are grappling with the problem of jail overcrowding in Johnson County because so many are incarcerated for marijuana possession. While response to this alert has been promising, we still need more people, especially from within Iowa City, to contact their officials urging them to adopt a policy instructing law enforcement to "cite and release" those found to be in possession of marijuana.

Law enforcement is already allowed under state law to cite and release people for committing such an offense pursuant to Iowa Code, Section 805. An ordinance instructing law enforcement to issue citations to those possessing marijuana would still subject offenders to the full penalties of the law the only difference would be that offenders no longer have to spend the weekend in an overcrowded jail waiting around to be released on bail. A scheduled court appearance would still be required and provided for on the issued citation.

Please take the following actions so council members know that passing such an ordinance would free up jail space and allow police to spend more time investigating serious crime.

If you live in Iowa City, please send the members of the Iowa City Council an e-mail asking them to consider passing an ordinance that allows for the citation and release of offenders, rather than incarceration.

If you are a citizen of one of the surrounding counties that presently bear the burden of Johnson County's jail overcrowding by accepting inmates in your jail, please click here to send the Iowa City Council an e-mail urging them to consider a sensible alternative to arresting and jailing those who possess marijuana.

Please e-mail Nathan Miller at Nathan@mpp.org to report any feedback council members give you.

To familiarize yourself with what people are saying about this issue, click here to read an interesting letter to the editor. To see the article that brought this issue into focus, click here.

One of the most important things that you can do to make sure the council members seriously consider implementing a sensible marijuana policy is to compose a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Making sure that the media report on this issue is a crucial element of persuading the city council that this is the right thing to do. While we have provided you with talking points to use when crafting your letter, please be certain to personalize your letter as much as possible a paper is much more likely to print a unique story.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this message along to your friends and family so that others can help make a difference. If you have any questions about marijuana reform in Iowa, please contact Nathan Miller at Nathan@mpp.org.