SUMNER – A public hearing on an ordinance to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority in town drew strong responses on both sides of the issue Tuesday night.

Barbara Kolln, one of 26 people who attended. said she knew many people whose drug problems began with marijuana. She also objected to holding the hearing in the Hartford-Sumner School building because it implied that using and growing marijuana was acceptable and sent the wrong message to the community and children.

Sumner resident Jonathan Leavitt, director of the Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative, said the war on drugs is costing trillions of dollars but doing nothing to address the thousands dying from cigarettes and drunks driving the roads. He said he uses marijuana and still considered himself a good parent and a responsible capable member of the community.

Travis Tripp, an ex-Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, said his objection to the present system was overzealous law enforcement. He said the state spent more than $20,000 to send two SWAT teams on a raid of his family home when one person could have come and checked out the situation. One of his family members was arrested and prosecuted, but was exonerated, he said.

Noelle Lueck also objected to excessive law enforcement. She said low-flying helicopters have made her hens stop laying and stampeded her horses through the fence where they could have been hurt or caused an accident.

Lueck asserted that many law enforcement agencies concentrate on pot and ignore real crime. She said they’re interested in confiscating and selling people’s property just because they have a few pot plants so they can buy cruisers and other toys with the proceeds.

She said she didn’t see why tax dollars were being spent on marijuana when there are people driving drunk.

Selectman Cliff McNeil backed the law enforcement community, saying they are needed. He objected to the ordinance because it is not enforceable.

Selectmen’s Assistant Cynthia Norton challenged Leavitt’s statement that the ordinance would not be a burden on the town. She said she read the ordinance, and it would place a significant burden on she and Town Clerk Susan Runes. She also said it would be wrong for the town to ask police to not do their sworn duty.

Harvey “Hap” Gallon said while he has no problem with adults having a little “something,” he thought he had been misled by those who asked him to sign the petition for the ordinance.

School board member Lana Pratt said she was led to believe the petition was about medical marijuana. She said that during her 30-year teaching career she had experience with children who used marijuana. She said she found that even children who only used it on weekends had significant short-term memory loss and lowered performance.

In extensive work with disturbed children, she said, she found that the only ones who didn’t improve were those using pot. She said some children get into their parents “stash” and end up in trouble at school.

The question will go before voters at the annual town meeting in August.