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Last updated Wednesday, August 20, 2008 7:12 PM CDT in News

By Skip Descant
The Morning News

FAYETTEVILLE - Organizers hoping to water-down marijuana offenses are only a few hundred names away from putting the question to the voters.

Sensible Fayetteville submitted to Fayetteville City Hall a petition with 5,522 signatures Aug. 6. Sondra Smith, city clerk, said her office determined 3,385 signatures belonged to valid Fayetteville voters. The group has until Aug. 29 to bring the total to the 3,686 signatures needed to put it on the ballot.

"We're going to keep doing what we've been doing," organizer Ryan Denham said Wednesday. "We'll be getting more signatures outside city hall, the post office and now that the students are back, we'll be at the university."

If the measure, known as "Lowest Law Enforcement and Prosecutorial Priority Policy Ordinance," passes with voters, how much teeth it has is fuzzy. According to Sensible Fayetteville, the ordinance would have the Fayetteville Police Department and local prosecutors treat adult marijuana possession offenses as a low priority.

Further, the measure requires the city clerk to send an annual letter to state and federal legislators, governor, and president stating: "The citizens of Fayetteville have passed an initiative to de-prioritize adult marijuana offenses, where the marijuana is intended for personal use, and request that the federal and Arkansas state governments take immediate steps to enact similar laws."

Denham and his roughly 20 followers plan to beef up their petition campaign by going door-to-door and are planning a special event Saturday in Wilson Park, where signers have the chance to win a free water filter.

"We're confident we can get the names we need," Denham said.

"We hope people will recognize this rare opportunity to be involved in the political process," Denham said in a statement. "We only need a few more signatures to push this thing over the top."

"Rain or shine, we'll be at Wilson Park Saturday and we're hoping people will take a few moments to drive by and add their names to this important initiative," he added.

Opposition, said Denham, has mostly been directed toward the concept of petitions, rather than the morality around marijuana.

"People are just kind of leery these days to put their name and birthday on a petition. But once they learn what we're trying to do, they've been happy to sign," Denham said.

In Arkansas, a similar measure in Eureka Springs passed with 61 percent of the vote in 2006.

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