POLICE DOUBT DATA OF PRO-POT GROUP

MISSOULA - A study by a marijuana reform group indicates that
Missoula County may be a relatively safe haven for marijuana smokers,
but local police are skeptical of the statistics.

"For those responsible adults who choose marijuana, they are less
likely to be arrested in Missoula County," said John Masterson,
regional director of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws. "If there is a safe county in Montana, Missoula may
the one for it."

NORML, with about 300 members in the Missoula area, said its study
shows the rate of marijuana arrests in Missoula County is below the
national and state averages.

Of all arrests nationally, the NORML study said, 4.65 percent are for
marijuana violations. In Montana, 5.4 percent are for marijuana, and
in Missoula County only 3.2 percent. Montana is third-lowest in total
number of statewide marijuana arrests.

John Gettman, a public policy analyst for NORML, studied marijuana-use
arrests from 1995-97 by state and county throughout the nation.

Missoula police Detective Jeff Dobie, who works mainly drug cases, was
skeptical of the findings. He said that NORML officials are pushing an
agenda and that the group's numbers should not necessarily be trusted.

Marijuana use is a big problem in Missoula, and he has "piles of work
to do" because of it, Dobie said.

"You don't know if their statistics are skewed," he
said.

"Marijuana is against the law, and until it's legalized, we will fight
it with as much vigor as we can."

The study showed significant variations in marijuana arrests from
county to county.

Toole County ranks No. 1 in per-capita marijuana arrests in Montana,
and Missoula County ranks 17.

There were 140 marijuana arrests in Missoula County in 1997, and 129
in Toole County. Based on population, a marijuana smoker is about
eight times more likely to be arrested in Toole County than in
Missoula County, the study said.

Toole County Undersheriff Dave Robins said his county may have been
identified as a law enforcement hot spot in the study because of its
proximity to Interstate 15, which brings drug operations from all over
the United States and Canada. A number of Indian reservations also
attract the drug, he said, but the main reason for the ranking is
probably the many arrests at the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at
Sweetgrass.