Columbia to vote on legalizing marijuana for medical use

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A group of students at the University of Missouri-Columbia have gathered enough signatures to force a vote in the city on legalizing marijuana for medical use and reducing penalties for those caught with small amounts of the drug.

The Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education collected enough signatures to put the issue on the April 8 ballot. The city council will vote Tuesday on whether to simply pass the proposed ordinance or put the matter before voters.

"My prediction is that the city council will vote no and set it for an election," said Anthony Johnson, a University of Missouri-Columbia law student who wrote the proposed ordinance.

Johnson, who is also president of the campus chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he believes the community will pass the ordinance by a narrow margin.

The proposed ordinance would reduce the penalty for those caught with 35 grams or less of marijuana from up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine to no jail time and a fine of $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second office, $100 for a third offense and $500 on subsequent offenses. Such cases also would be referred to the city prosecutor, instead of state courts.

Worried about message

City Councilman John John said he worries that passing the ordinance would send a message of tolerance to young people.

"This would create two problems. One, it encourages the use of marijuana and two, you've got to get it to use it," John said. "Ultimately, distribution would also be encouraged."

Johnson said he wrote the ordinance after learning that University of Missouri students could lose their federal financial aid if convicted of a drug offense through state courts.

Students convicted of possession of a controlled substance at the state court level are not eligible to receive any grant, loan or work assistance for one year after the first conviction, two years after the second and indefinitely after a third conviction.