KALAMAZOO -- A group that seeks to curtail the enforcement of marijuana-possession laws in Kalamazoo expects to begin circulating petitions in the next several weeks in effort to force a public vote on the issue.

The Kalamazoo Coalition for Pragmatic Cannabis Laws aims to amend the city charter to add language making the possession of small amounts of marijuana "the lowest priority for law enforcement."

Group members say they hope to put the measure on the ballot in November. To do so, the group must collect nearly 2,900 signatures from registered city voters.

Louis Cloise Stocking, 21, the organization's founder, said law enforcement agencies are committing too many resources to arresting people who use small amounts of marijuana on private property.

He also said that arrests for marijuana use in situations where no other crime is committed create unnecessary roadblocks to employment and higher-education financial aid.

But Capt. Joseph Taylor, head of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team drug unit, disagrees. He said the initiative "negates the role of the state Legislature" by allowing local agencies to "pick and choose which laws are a priority and which ones we turn a blind eye to."

Taylor called the proposal a "roundabout way to move toward legalization of marijuana."

Preliminary 2008 Kalamazoo Public Safety statistics show there were about 1,600 controlled-substance arrests here and that nearly 60 percent of those involved marijuana charges. Nearly 90 percent of those charges were misdemeanors.

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Kathy Jessup | Kalamazoo Gazette