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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsReport: Delaware governor signs bill decriminalizing pot
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell has signed into law a bill decriminalizing possession and private use of small amounts of marijuana, following the lead of nearly 20 states that have eased penalties for personal consumption, local news media reported.
The measure will allow individuals in Delaware to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to use it privately without facing criminal sanctions though police could still confiscate the drug according to local news website Delaware Online/The News Journal.
The statute also will reduce the penalty for using marijuana in a public place to a $100 civil fine. Under previous Delaware law, simple marijuana possession was a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,150.
The law takes effect in six months. Markell, a Democrat, signed the measure almost immediately after the state Senate, voting along party lines, gave it final legislative approval on Thursday.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/19/delaware-governor-signs-bill-decriminalizing-pot-report.html
samsingh
(17,599 posts)Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)It leaves the black market trade and its associated violent crime in place, continues to feed the corrupt prison industrial complex, and while ten or fifteen years ago it should have been hailed as a courageous first step, now it is the equivalent to proposing civil unions instead of marriage equality.
Legalize; regulate; now.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)It's confusing, and sends a weirdly mixed message.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)I think we'll have a bunch more legal states after 2016:
Most likely
California
Nevada
Massachusetts
Maine
Got a decent chance
Arizona
Michigan
Missouri
Ohio
All by the initiative process.
msongs
(67,430 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)By going to a black market dealer.