U.S. move to soften marijuana law

Press, 28 October 1977, Page 6

U.S. move to soften marijuana law

NZPA Washington 1 The American Senate Judi-I ciary Committee has tentati-| vely agreed to decriminalise | possession of up to 28gm i (one ounce) of marijuana —; the first time a Congres-' sional committee has ever, approved such a step. The provision, passed 6-4. was offered by Senator Birch Bayh (Democrat. Indiana). who said he was seeking a more realistic revision of Federal laws dealing with marijuana possession. The vote was tentative in that some committee members were absent and wili be polled later on the question. And Senator Urrin Hatch

(Republican. Utah) was so! furious at the outcome of; 'the vote that he threatened: Ito seek stiffer penalties for !possession of even small; lamounts of marijuana. Senator Bayh sought to amend a section of a bill re- ' vising the Federal criminal; code that would have legal-! ised possession of up to! lOgm of marijuana, or about one-third of an ounce. Senator Bayh said that! lOgm was an unrealistic! amount since most mari-j juana is sold in one ounce! <2Bgm) weight “lids", which.' he said, was the amount a casual user most likely I would have on hand. Also, he said, a $lOO civil' fine should be retained,

rather than fully legalising even a small amount of the [substance. Senator Hatch and othei 'opponents had claimed earlier that 28gm of marijuana could yield up to 70 "joints” ,or cigarettes, and Senator Bayh argued 30 was more accurate. Senator Bayh then demonstrated his point. In the , midst of discussion, Senator Bayh produced four plastic 'bags — two containing a .marijuana-looking substance 'in quantities of 10 and 28gm and two more with the [equivalent number of joints from each amount. I Senator James Eastland , (Democrat, Mississippi), the

committee chairman, glared at Senator Bayh.

Senators James Abourezk (Democrat, South Dakota) and Senator Joe Biden (Democrat, Delaware) asked jokingly whether Senator Bayh wanted to share a smoke later, and Senator Edjward Kennedy (Democrat. I Massachusetts) asked if Senator Bayh planned to light up. Others in the jammed committee room laughed.

Senator Bayh finally confessed “it’s only Oregon.” His point was made, however: lOgm yielded seven joints, while 28gm vielded 28. Voting for the Bayh amendment were Senators

Bayh. Abourezk, Biden, and Dennis Deconcini (Democrat, Arizona), Paul Laxalt (Republican. Nevada), and John Culver (Democrat, Iowa)After being cornered by other conservatives, Senator Laxalt later indicated he may not have understood iwhat he was voting for.

Senators Eastland. Kennedy, Hatch, and Strom Thurmond (Republican. 1 South Carolina), voted against the move. Senator Hatch, angered by the vote, said that he would) offer an amendment to' subject possession of any amount of marijuana to a $lOO fine and a 30-day jail term.