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April 28 - May 4, 2016 • Page 10A
Clarkston City Hall was filled with public and media alike during a public health
committee meeting discussing marijuana decriminalization.
From left, Mayor Ted Terry and Councilman Dean Moore serve on the public health
committee. Photos by R. Scott Belzer
Clarkston discusses decriminalization with expert witnesses
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
C larkston’s public safety
committee discussed mari
juana decriminalization for
more than two hours April
22, calling on expert wit
ness testimony and input from the
public.
Five scheduled speakers dis
cussed the issue with Mayor Ted
Terry and council member Dean
Moore as well as a speaker on behalf
of Mario Williams from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Unscheduled speakers, made up of
residents and Clarkston police chief
Christine Hudson, also provided
views on decriminalization.
Marijuana decriminalization in
Clarkston became a popular topic fol
lowing a February city council meeting
in which a resolution was adopted
to heavily reduce punishments for
misdemeanor possession within city
limits.
According to georgiacourts.org,
municipalities such as Clarkston use
concurrent jurisdiction to enforce vio
lations such as ordinance violations,
shoplifting and misdemeanor marijua
na possession under their own laws.
Chief Hudson noted that
Clarkston currently enforces its own
ordinance which “rarely” lands people
in jail and has a fine hovering around
$660. According to the Georgia Code,
an offender has the option of arguing
for a conditional discharge or diver
sion, meaning a judge can refer the
offender to probation and clear the
marijuana charge from his or her re
cord.
If a conditional discharge is not
granted, the charge can result in a jail
sentence for up to a year, a $1,000
fine or both. The drug charge will also
stay on the offender’s record.
Hudson said that within the past
two years, there have been 77 mari
juana cases involving less than an
ounce. Of those 77,15 were handled
as state charges due to other state
level offenses. The majority (38) were
given citations and released on scene
while the others (24) were taken to jail
and brought to court.
Terry said, due to high incarcera-
Kenneth Glasgow served as an expert
witness on April 22 in favor of marijuana
decriminalization.
tion rates, United States courts have
affected “millions of lives, dreams,
hopes and opportunities” with “irrevo
cable [damage].” Terry said this could
come to an end by reexamining the
criminal justice system.
Terry also proposed examining
marijuana use from a public health
standpoint. The mayor said examin
ing tobacco and alcohol in such a way
has curbed use.
“The biggest issue is having
people becoming incarcerated and
ending up in poverty or homeless,”
Moore said. “These are the kinds of
things we’re trying to avoid throughout
the system.”
Stephen Bradley of Law Enforce
ment Against Prohibition was the
first to speak at the meeting. Bradley
offered expertise as a former police
officer in Forsyth County. Bradley
cited 5 percent of the world’s prison
population and 50 percent of inmates
being in jail for drug-related offenses
as problems worthy of addressing.
Bradley said in the late ‘60s, law
enforcement made an average of two
marijuana arrests per hour. Today,
he said, law enforcement makes ap
proximately 80 per hour, accounting
for 750,000 people per year and even
more in tax dollars. Bradley said the
majority of his encounters involving
marijuana were young people and
rarely as a result of driving under the
influence.
According to Bradley, these
numbers come despite government
reported marijuana use staying on or
Clarkston Police Chief Christine
Hudson offered statistics and
ordinance expertise on marijuana
decriminalization.
around 20 percent. The rate of use
has also stayed the same despite
several states and cities allowing rec
reational use.
Bradley stated Black people are
3.7 times more likely to be arrested
for marijuana throughout the country
and 5.8 times more likely in DeKalb
County.
Sue Rusche with National
Families in Action brought up issues
involving public health if marijuana
were decriminalized. While she called
decriminalization shifting low-level
marijuana possession from a criminal
justice model to a public health model
a “good goal,” Rusche said combat
ing use and addiction in addition to
an increase in mental, physical and
behavioral problems outweighed that
goal’s end.
Specifically, Rusche said
Clarkston could also expect to see
an increase in traffic incidents, school
failure and youth underachievement.
While Rusche said the current punish
ments and laws reduce these prob
lems, she also said Clarkston has a
unique opportunity to document and
study decriminalization for Georgia-
based evidence.
James Bell of Georgia’s Cam
paign for Access Reform and Edu
cation spoke in support Clarkston’s
initiative on the grounds of public
safety in that low-level possession is
a misdemeanor with no victim and no
criminal.
Bell said public opinion in Georgia
shows that more than 70 percent of
Stephen Bradley of Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition spoke on the issue
from a law enforcement perspective.
residents would like to see some sort
of reform while 84 percent support in
state cultivation. Bell said 62 percent
of residents support some form of de
criminalization.
Stephanie Guillod of Proj
ect South in Atlanta commended
Clarkston for taking steps in address
ing wider systemic problems. Guillod
said Clarkston shows young people
throughout the metro Atlanta area that
the democratic process does work.
Guillod said a single drug offense
can often derail young peoples’ lives
with fines, parole demands and pro
bation demands, especially in more
diverse neighborhoods.
“What we know for sure and have
seen many times is that a single drug
offense can be a one-way ticket to a
spiral downward,” Guillod said.
Kenneth Glasgow of the For
merly Incarcerated People Movement
spoke to support Clarkston’s initiative
and called the current criminal justice
system “barbaric” and “oppressive.”
Glasgow said Clarkston had a unique
opportunity to conduct research and
be a model on decriminalization.
Glasgow attributed most first-year
college dropout rates to low-level mar
ijuana possession, a statistic he said
is not commonly mentioned.
“The burden of a person going
to jail or prison ... the supervision of
being under probation, all adds up,”
Glasgow said.
Clarkston’s next public meeting
will be a regularly scheduled monthly
city council meeting on May 2.