The Eugene City Council voted 6 to 1 Monday to more than double the misdemeanor fine for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, despite outcry from the pot-smoking community last month.
The fine increase had been in talks for months as city officials worked to build on the success of BUSTED, a low-cost alcohol-related diversion program run by the University’s Substance Abuse Prevention Program.
Monday’s vote will increase the fine from $100 to $250, and city officials hope it will be enough to provide incentive for drug offenders to join “Marijuana and Other Drugs,” a new diversion program also being implemented by SAPP.
The program will cost $90 and will be open to the public. The current state diversion program costs $600 to $900 and requires a large time commitment to complete.
Opponents of the increase, while not able to express their concerns during the meeting, have decried the efforts based on concerns that the increase would adversely affect medical marijuana patients. Some patients, the opponents said, can’t afford the $150 medical marijuana card and are forced to buy on the street.
A few city councilors echoed opponent concerns shortly before the City Council voted overwhelmingly to pass the measure.
Ward 2 City Councilor Betty Taylor, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said she thought the fine would hurt young and old people alike.
“I will be voting against this,” she said. “I don’t think that raising the fine will be a deterrent.”
Taylor added that forcing people into treatment isn’t effective if there is no willingness to change, and most people not willing to stop smoking don’t think about the difference between $100 and $250.
Ward 3 City Councilor David Kelly, who represents the University area, said the only reason he was supporting the measure was because of the advantage the diversion will bring to students. Successful completion of the program will result in the city dropping the conviction for first-time offenders, and students who are convicted of drug possession could potentially lose financial aid if it stays on their record.
Kelly added that he will be listening to make sure medical marijuana patients aren’t being harmed, and to make sure offenders are not automatically charged $250, warning that he would not hesitate to revisit the issue if he found that it was harmful or abused.