In Chicago, A New And Lighter Policy On Marijuana Possession Is Proposed
It's not decriminalization, it's dealing with it in a different way, a different penalty. 
In Chicago, a newly proposed policy on marijuana may mean smokers can exhale a huge sigh of relief. At the moment, anyone caught with less than an ounce of marijuana is charged with a misdemeanor. If found guilty, they must pay a $2,500 fine and face up to a year in prison. Now however, the introduction of this new policy would mean that those caught would only be charged a small fine.
Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently spent time with police officers in the city, and witnessed the amount of time they waste on the streets and in courtrooms on low level marijuana cases, which 9 out of 10 times get dismissed. Every time a person is arrested for marijuana, a police officer spends 4 hours processing them. And if you consider the fact that 20,000 low-level marijuana arrests are made per year, it is clear that the police are simply wasting their time.
In Chicago, homicides have recently increased 35%. Of course it doesn’t make sense for police to be hunting down those in possession of small amounts of marijuana when they could be hunting down murderers.
"It's not decriminalization, it's dealing with it in a different way, a different penalty. And I want police officers fighting the crimes that need to be fought," Emanuel says about the new policy.
Under the proposed policy, anyone 18 or older found with half an ounce of marijuana or less will simply get a ticket if they aren’t wanted for another crime. No jail time would be served, and tickets would range from $250-$500. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy however, says that those caught who are not carrying their ID will be arrested.
Danny Solis, a member of the municipal assembly and the man responsible for presenting this new policy says, "Yes, marijuana is still bad…. There’s no way I can condone it. But I know that we're going to have these police officers in these violent neighborhoods. And hopefully, that extra police man-hours will be helping to save lives of young men and women."
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Thursday, 28 June 2012
