Capitol, Hartford
6/5/2011 – The Connecticut Senate passed Governor Dan Malloy’s decriminalization bill on June 4th. Time is running short for the legislative session and the bill is getting one last push. Recent amendments lowered the amount of cannabis adults can posses from one ounce to half an ounce. Offenders would pay a $150 fine the first time and $200-$500 on further occasions. Those under the age of 21 would also have their driver’s license suspended for 60 days.
All of the Republicans in the Senate voted against the bill. The legislation must still pass a floor vote in the House.
More from the CT Mirror:
Backers of the bill said it would allow law enforcement to shift priorities to more important matters.
“This would free up court time, probation officer time, police time, to focus on the much more serious stuff,” said Malloy’s chief criminal justice adviser, Michael Lawlor.
They also argue that the lower penalties for small amounts of marijuana-roughly 30 joints by their estimate-will still deter use as much the current penalties do.
Sen. Eric D. Coleman, D-Bloomfield and co-chairman of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said the current penalties don’t deter use. What they do is saddle people caught with a small amounts of marijuana with a criminal record that harms their job, education and military opportunities.
Governor Malloy, a Democrat, is a former prosecutor and crafted the decriminalization bill. His Republican predecessor, Jodi Rell, vetoed a similar bill that passed both houses in 2009. There are thirteen US States that treat small amounts of marijuana as a civil offense.
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]