Although some students are excited to celebrate the first unofficial cannabis holiday since decriminalization in Evanston, the new ordinance may not be as lenient as some assume.
Under the old law, Evanston residents found with less than 10 grams of cannabis would be arrested and charged with possession and could have faced up to six months in jail. However, due to Evanston Police Department implementation policy, residents possessing small amounts of cannabis will still be criminally charged with a misdemeanor if they commit other crimes at the same time.
Citations are handled through an administrative hearing at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, but criminal charges are heard in Skokie at the Cook County Circuit Court, 5600 Old Orchard Road.
“We don’t want to send someone to two different locations for two different types of offenses,” said EPD spokesman Cmdr. Jay Parrott. “They’re going to be charged with the misdemeanor for possession of cannabis in addition to the other charge.”
But this policy still follows the spirit of the law, which is to prevent repeat cannabis offenses, Parrott said. That purpose is defeated with people who commit multiple crimes at the same time.
Frances Fu, president of the newly reactivated NU chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, said it is important that students are informed about all nuances of the new ordinance, which was passed unanimously by the Evanston City Council.
“I was under the impression that if it was just marijuana, even if you were charged with another offense, it would be decriminalized,” Fu said. “I think policymakers should do a better job of informing people about it.”
A Weinberg freshman who wished to remain anonymous sells marijuana on campus and was unaware of the exception to the decriminalization ordinance. He likened the anticipation of Friday, the unofficial day to celebrate and consume cannabis, to the buying frenzy that precedes the winter holiday season.
He said he expects most of his 10 to 15 core clients will make a purchase for Friday’s unofficial marijuana holiday.
“The point of 4/20 is to celebrate weed,” he said. “It is a day everybody can have fun smoking weed together and feel some connection with other people.”
But for law enforcement on campus and in Evanston, April 20 is no different than any other Friday.
“It’s just another day, ” said Parrott. “We’re aware of it, but it’s not something that we specifically look for. And I don’t think it’s that big of an event that takes place in Evanston.”
Parrott said EPD does not usually see an increase in cannabis-related arrests or tickets on 4/20. Neither does University Police, according to Deputy Chief Dan McAleer.
“That’s probably a choice of our students as far as illegal activity is concerned,” McAleer said. “Most of them don’t want to be involved in it. And for those that do, they don’t want to break the law to the extreme that their career and future is compromised.”
UP has not experienced many changes since municipal laws were changed in November to decriminalize possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana, McAleer added. Officers most commonly encounter small amounts of the drug on campus, so they usually just issue a citation and write a referral to the Division of Student Affairs.
The unnamed dealer said even though the city decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, the new law is unlikely to convert non-users into smokers.
“There is a large community of people who do smoke and smoke a lot,” he said. “There’s also a large community that doesn’t smoke, that has not smoked and will never smoke.”
Daniel Schlessinger contributed reporting.
