Common Sense Pot Policy Comes To Missoula County MT

.

Nearly a year after voters made the Garden City a little greener by asking county law enforcement to ignore adult marijuana offenses, Missoula's top prosecutor has adopted an official policy to uphold the referendum.


“In the interest of compliance with the 2006 voter initiative on marijuana ... we are asking law enforcement officers to stop arresting individuals or writing and submitting tickets (with mandatory appearance dates) where the offense committed is solely possession of marijuana in misdemeanor amounts or possession of drug paraphernalia intended for use of marijuana,” according to a draft of the policy by Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg, an outspoken opponent of the measure.


Van Valkenburg's policy also instructs deputy prosecutors to charge misdemeanor marijuana cases on a lowest-priority basis when marijuana is the sole offense more