Local volunteers have submitted hundreds of petition signatures to the City of New Brunswick in the hopes of making adult marijuana possession the lowest law enforcement priority. A decision on whether there were sufficient numbers of valid signatures is expected tomorrow.
Rather than decriminalizing or legalizing pot, the proposed ordinance would direct local police to consider adults in possession of a small amount of marijuana to be the least of their concerns while on patrol.
Similar “Low-Pri” ordinances have been enacted in dozens of cities across the country. The New Brunswick effort has been supported by NORML New Jersey.
If adopted, the Low-Pri ordinance could tangibly save the city valuable law enforcement resources. New Brunswick has one of the highest per-capita arrest rates for minor marijuana offenses in the state.
Anne Davis NORML-NJ Executive Director said today, “The residents would prefer their resources spent more wisely on crimes such as theft, robbery and rape.”
American voters in the West are accustomed to initiatives that put alterations to local laws directly on the ballot. But in the eastern United States voters rarely have the same opportunity.
In New Jersey, changes to exiting law and new municipal or state laws are accomplished almost exclusively through the legislative process. But a little known 1950 law called the Faulkner Act does allow for citizens to be more directly involved.
Fred DiMaria Esq., Chairman of NORML-NJ, spoke with me today. “One of the main objectives of the Faulkner Act is to encourage the public's active participation in government by empowering voters with the right to enact their own ordinances through a process known as ‘initiative and referendum.’”
Although not frequently employed, such campaigns in New Jersey have been successful and have also passed further legal scrutiny.
DiMaria added, “The New Jersey Courts have historically given great deference to the right of the people to create their own laws through the initiative process and have been extremely reluctant to overrule the clear will of the people.”
Under the Faulkner Act the process for the item will be as follows:
- signatures gathered
- signatures submitted
- signatures accepted or not accepted
- if accepted, item is referred to City Council for discussion and/or vote
- If item passes council vote the item is enacted
- If item does not pass council it is referred to voters directly on a ballot
Volunteers in New Brunswick felt they had gathered enough signatures to qualify the measure.
NORML-NJ's website: www.normlnj.org
by Chris Goldstein, the Philadelphia NORML Examiner. Chris is on the Board of Directors at NORML-NJ. He may be contacted through media( at )phillynorml.org
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