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Police Awaiting Pot Law Guidance

Police Awaiting Pot Law Guidance image
Parent Issue
Day
2
Month
April
Year
1974
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

The two police chiefs in Washtenaw County whose cities Monday passed a $5 marijuana possession and sale ordinance have a "wait and see" position on the new law. Chiefs Walter E. Krasny of Ann Arbor and Herb Smith of Ypsilanti say they will issue no orders about enforcement of the law until given direction from their respective city attorneys' offices. "We're simply going to await guidance from the city attorney's office," Krasny said. "It will be up to legal counsel to decide if a court should be asked to decide the status of this law." Smith said his department has taken a similar stand. "Until (City Attorney) Ken Bronson informs us what action on the ordinance he recommends, we will not begin enforcement," Smith said. "It's a legal matter when it comes to state and local laws contradicting one another." Krasny did not attempt to conceal his misgivings about the passage of the law which requires policemen to ticket marijuana possessers, users or sellers with a $5 fine coming from the ticket. "Apparently the people who voted for this law consider smoking marijuana a minor offense. But the ones who voted this in seem to have ignored the fact that the law sets no minimum or maximum of marijuana possession or sale. Also ignored is the fact that city policemen are responsible for enforcement of state as well as local law and the new law is in direct conflict with state statute." Krasny sees difficulty with the law from several angles, including the section which makes it a misdemeanor for an officer or city attorney to take a marijuana case under the existing state law. "It will be up to our city attorney's office to decide if any section or all of this law will be put to the legal test of constitutionality," Krasny said.