Voters will be asked to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession in Norwood

Randy Tucker | Cincinnati Enquirer

The City of Norwood is poised to join a growing number of cities across the country that have reduced penalties for low-level marijuana possession.

The Hamilton County Board of Elections on Monday certified more than 600 signatures for a ballot initiative. If passed by voters in Norwood - Hamilton County's second largest city - the measure would remove fines and jail time for cannabis possession under 200 grams.

The certified signatures were more than twice the number needed to place the issue on the November ballot, according to Amy Wolfinbarger, the 50-year-old founding president of Sensible Norwood, which spearheaded the initiative.

The pro-cannabis community group failed to advance a similar measure past the board of elections in 2016.

Wofinbarger said the group stuck with the effort to decriminalize cannabis possession because of the unforeseen consequences many of those prosecuted for low-level crimes suffer.

"Prosecution for some of these low-level charges may result in a college student losing their financial aid, for example,'' Wolfinbarger said. "What we’ve found in cities that have this (decriminalization), officers are not arresting and charging people with these low-level crimes and can divert more money and resources to more violent crimes.''

That won't be the case in Norwood, according to Police Chief William Kramer.

Marijuana possession and use is still outlawed under both federal and state law, and police can still charge people with misdemeanors for cannabis possession, even if the ballot issue eliminates fines and jail time.

"This (ballot issue) deals with Norwood's codified ordinance and doesn't have anything to do with state law,'' Kramer said. "We really wouldn't change how we do things. We would simply, from the very beginning, charge them under state code.''

Kramer acknowledged the city would forfeit fines for possession of marijuana if local police used state code to charge suspects. But he described the fines as "pretty negligible to begin with.''

In Ohio, possession of less than 100 grams of cannabis is a minor misdemeanor punishable by a $150 fine.

Possession of 100 - 200 grams is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 days imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250.

Anyone caught possessing 200 grams or more is subject to felony charges. Two hundred grams is almost a half pound of marijuana.

How harshly you’re treated for possessing cannabis varies widely by socio-economic status, race, city and state statutes.

But more than 50 localities in a dozen states have ended prosecution or enacted municipal laws or resolutions decriminalizing minor violations for cannabis possession, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

In Minneapolis, police announced in June that they would no longer conduct sting operations targeting low-level marijuana sales after arrest records showed all but one of the 47 people arrested in the stings from January through May were black, according to the StarTribune.

Earlier this month, prosecutors in Manhattan adopted a new policy not to prosecute most cases of people smoking cannabis in public or possessing small amounts, the Associated Press reported.

Wolfinbarger said it would be unconscionable for local police to continue charging people with misdemeanor possession if voters approve the ballot measure in November.

"With legalization sweeping the nation the way it is, I just don't think its appropriate,'' she said. "I feel like you would just be looking your constituents in the face and saying we don't care how you feel about this issue.''

Ohio's Medical Marijuana Control Program is set to launch Sept. 8, with medical cannabis sales to patients with at least one of 21 qualifying conditions expected to begin by the end of the year.

Ohio is one of 31 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized cannabis for medical or recreational use or both.

Medical marijuana in Ohio: The basics When will medical marijuana in Ohio be available? Will I need a prescription? Can I use it for recreation?

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