Cleveland may re-criminalize marijuana possession

Published: May 17, 2007

Right now, a person who gets caught in Cleveland with a small amount of marijuana is charged with a minor misdemeanor, which is only a ticketable offense, and is fined $100. However, Councilman Zach Reed has introduced an ordinance that would increase the penalty to three days in jail in addition to paying the $100 fine.

Councilman Reed believes that these increased penalties will help the city more effectively deal with drug problems. In fact, though, the proposal will send nonviolent marijuana users to jail, doing nothing to stop the violent crime. Arresting, prosecuting, and jailing nonviolent marijuana users is an incredible waste of precious taxpayer resources. If Councilman Reed really wants to fight Cleveland's drug problems, then he should push the City Council to spend more money on drug treatment programs.

Please take action now and let the Cleveland City Council know that you don't want it wasting your tax dollars arresting and jailing marijuana users. You can click here to send a letter to the city council members. We have several pre-written letters available for you to use, but please take a moment to personalize your letter before sending it. If you get a response from a council member, please forward it to me at zane@mpp.org.

Then, call your City Council member and tell him or her that you oppose Councilman Reed's motion to increase penalties for possession of small quantities of marijuana. You can help to protect Cleveland's responsible marijuana policies. The phone call will just take a moment. Please click here to find the contact information for the council members. If you don't know which Ward you live in, you can click here to find out.

After you take action, please forward this message to your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and e-mail lists in Cleveland. If you would like to do more to ensure that this ordinance is defeated, please contact me by e-mailing zane@mpp.org. Several committees are looking at the proposal, so we still have time to educate the council members on what a bad proposal this is. But they're going to need to hear from lots of members of the community.

Last year, the city of Cincinnati re-criminalized minor marijuana possession based on similar false claims and promises of a reduction in crime. However, since the new law passed in Cincinnati, violent crime has actually increased in the city. We need your help to prevent this bad policy from taking effect in Cleveland. Please take action now. Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project.