California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill downgrading the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction.
The law, SB 1449 by Senator Mark Leno, means small-time pot offenders will no longer have to appear in court, and will no longer have a criminal arrest record. It will also save California millions of dollars in court and prosecution expenses, according to Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML.
The bill makes possession of up-to an ounce an infraction; like a traffic ticket, punishable by a simple $100 fine and no arrest record.
The Governor said that the bill is not intended to make it easier for people to have cannabis, but instead to ease the state's financial burden of the cost of enforcing the previous policy.
"Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state's taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders," Gieringer said. "Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources."
The new law will not take effect until January 1, 2011, and it will still remain relevant even if Proposition 19 passes.
Prop 19 leaves misdemeanor possession penalties in place for public use and smoking in the presence of children; under SB 1449, these offenses are now simple infractions. Leaving dispensary owners opposed to Prop 19 with one less objection.
California NORML originally called for making petty possession an infraction when the state passed its original landmark decriminalization law in 1975, but the Legislature made it a minor misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $100 fine.
This marks the first time in 35 years that penalties for non-medical use of marijuana have been reduced in California.
Shouldn't the world just legalize marijuana and stop this monkey business?
At least legalization would stop the abuse of power used by law enforcement against a portion of the population.
Related Article: Decrim In Cali! Schwarzenegger Signs Bill: Pot Now $100 Fine
Comments
We need better access to medical cannabis!
I am a medical cannabis patient, but can not grow it my self, so I have to buy it, but how can I possibly afford $400 per ounce? My physician suggest I need about 4 ounces per month to substitute for the current opiate/opioid, and anti-convulsive type nerve medications I use. I am very interested in medical cannabis, as are several members of my family including both my parents, but we no access.
I have had to deal with medical issues through out my life. At the moment I am on SSI, but am working with the state department of rehab to get back to work. I have already had to file bankruptcy due to nearly $180,000 dollars in medical expenses I incurred before I was officially diagnosed with my congenital condition. I have no money at all, so how can I possibly benefit from medical cannabis, how can most normal people for that matter? Spending $400 per month is a large burden for 'normal' middle income individuals. Spending that much for raw cannabis is simply not prudent. Because of this, I must wait until prices drop, or just use narcotics and other pharmaceuticals.
Until it's legal, most 'normal' people who would like to try it for their ailments, are simply out of it's reach. At the moment, Medi-Cal pays for all my medication, but I have absolutely no access to affordable cannabis.
We need true access to medical cannabis, not the criminal infested system that's making a mockery of the word 'compassion'! Criminals are running the show, and their hiding behind a legal veil, what a travesty!
Agree with anonymous. It does no good to make possession legal, and then force patients to buy from illegal sources. We need to legalize the SUPPLY SIDE and that is exactly what Prop 19 will do. Once the risk factor is removed, the resulting crime and exorbitant prices will plummet as they did with Alcohol when prohibition was repealed.
400 an ounce in California? Where the heck you shopping? Our store carries about 20 different strains and the average is about 250 an ounce for a decent grade smoke. Smoking an ounce a week is a bit of over kill at that. Maybe you should try some eddibles. For about ten bucks you can get a couple cookies that should ease the pain for most the day.
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