Penalties for possession of marijuana are likely to get stiffer, according to Iowa legislators.

After much deliberation, the Iowa House concurred with the Senate Wednesday to pass Senate File 2291, a bill originally purported to allow probation for some Operating While Intoxicated offenders after serving a mandatory minimum sentence.

House amendment 8796 was tacked onto the bill before its passage, dealing in part with increasing drug possession penalties.

To help tackle marijuana use, the amendment increases the maximum fine for dealing amounts of marijuana less than 50 kilograms from $5,000 to $7,500.

All marijuana possession offenses currently are punishable through six months in prison and a $1,000 fine.

If Gov. Terry Branstad signs the bill, the charge for second possession will be a serious misdemeanor.

Third and subsequent offenses will be deemed aggravated misdemeanors, which may result in up to two years in prison in addition to fines.

The penalty for a second violation of possession of illegal drugs, not including marijuana, is increased to an aggravated misdemeanor. Apprehension for a third or consecutive time will result in a Class D felony. Currently, any violation is a serious misdemeanor.

Carl Olsen, member of the Iowa chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said he strongly disagrees with stricter marijuana penalties.

He said because the amendment hasn’t seen a lot of press, the public are not aware that penalties for possession of marijuana are likely to increase.

“[The bill] is not going to deter people from smoking marijuana if they don’t know about it,” he said.

Olsen said longer prison terms will require more money from taxpayers, as well as the release of more dangerous prisoners.

Derrick Grimmer, member of the Ames NORML chapter, said he questions the goal of the proposed laws.

Grimmer said a hike in penalties for possession will result in lost jobs, forfeited belongings and broken families when loved ones are serving longer jail terms instead of being at home.

“More lives will be ruined for nothing,” Grimmer said.

Like Olsen, Grimmer said the laws will limit jail time for offenders of more serious crimes.

“Violent criminals will have to be set free to make room for those charged with simple possession,” he said.

Grimmer said the answer to curbing marijuana use is to legalize the substance with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco products.

“I think marijuana should be legalized, taxed and regulated like alcohol and tobacco,” he said.

Iowa representative Ed Fallon, D-Des Moines, said he voted against the bill partly because the boost in drug possession penalties is doing more harm than good.

“This war on drugs isn’t working,” he said.

Fallon said placing drug law offenders in prison isn’t the answer to curbing Iowa’s drug problem, but that funding treatment and prevention programs is a realistic solution.

By increasing jail terms of individuals convicted for marijuana possession, he said it seems that Iowa legislators are trying to “incarcerate as many people as possible.”

Fallon said possessors of marijuana are “not a violent threat to society” but that prison is a place for those persons who are “serious threats to life and liberty.”

Iowa representative Cecelia Burnett, D-Ames, said she voted in favor of the bill because she agreed with the majority of its provisions.

Although she did not agree with all aspects of the bill, it was a worthy proposal, she said.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take the bad with the better,” she said.

As for the part of the bill that deals with marijuana, Burnett said it will not deter those who use marijuana and that it might overload the court system.

She said the drug penalty provision of the bill should focus more on methamphetamines rather than on marijuana.

Senate File 2291 was sent to Branstad Wednesday.