Detroit approves personal pot use
Source: Detroit News
Detroit voters overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to decriminalize personal use of marijuana, but users may not want to breathe easy just yet.
State and federal law still deem the drug illegal, and there's disagreement about whether the change will mean anything.
On the same day voters in Flint, Grand Rapids and Colorado and Washington approved similar measures, Detroit passed Proposal M 65-35 percent, allowing those 21 and older to possess less than an ounce of marijuana without prosecution. In Grand Rapids, voters made marijuana possession a civil infraction punishable by a fine rather than a misdemeanor that carried possible jail time 59-41 percent.
In Flint, allowing possession of less than an ounce for those older than 19 was leading 57-43 percent with 95 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday afternoon.
Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121108/METRO01/211080371#ixzz2BduIGu5T
More progress on ending prohibition. The article neglected to mention that the fine in Grand Rapids will be $25 for a first offense and $100 anytime after that.
Cal Carpenter
(4,959 posts)that essentially makes personal amounts of pot a non-priority for the cops.
I think as more and more states and cities pass laws or resolutions like these the Feds are going to have a harder time trying to enforce the federal laws.
Grand Rapids
bamacrat
(3,867 posts)The Feds have to seriously consider removing their penalties for weed. Leave it to the states. Once Co and WA show how much money they have made other states will follow suit.
Uncle Joe
(58,364 posts)Thanks for the thread, SpartanDem.
navarth
(5,927 posts)but I think it just became safer to mind one's own business in D Town. Not totally safe, but safer.