A bill that is currently passing through the Connecticut state legislature could decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. This would make Connecticut the fourteenth state to pass such a bill.
The bill would only apply to people over the age of 18, with younger people being charged under current laws. As the laws are now, marijuana possession in small amounts is considered a misdemeanor with the possibility of jail time or a fine of up to $1,000.
The new bill would change the penalty from possessing half an ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, which would eliminate the possibility of jail time. Also, the maximum fine would be lowered to $250.
Decriminalization of marijuana possession would be a step in the right direction for legislators. From an economic standpoint, decriminalization would save money for the state.
According to the General Assembly’s Office of Fiscal Analysis, there were 9,928 marijuana arrests in Connecticut in 2007. Estimates also say that 3,300 arrests were for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
The legislature has predicted that the new measure would save the state $11 million in legal fees, and also generate approximately $325,000 in revenue from fines. The economic benefits of this change would be undeniable and the state might as well make money off of it.
In reality, decriminalization of marijuana is a reasonable balance between lowering the much too harsh penalties of marijuana possession while still not fully condoning its use.
In fact, it is justifiable to completely legalize marijuana. It has proven time and again to be less dangerous than alcohol, a legal substance, and the medicinal purposes are vast and helpful to people who are suffering.
Additionally, legalizing marijuana would give the state additional income if they placed a sales tax on the substance. The state would then have the ability to regulate the tax amount on marijuana, and also regulate what is put into marijuana. This would make it safer for users since illegal sellers could put nearly anything that they want into the marijuana that they sell.
In the most recent statistics, there were seven drug violations on the CCSU campus in 2007. Across the state, colleges have showed similar statistics with the University of Hartford having 9 arrests in 2006. The University of Connecticut, which is a much larger school, had 85 drug violations in 2007.
These statistics are extremely low. Drug use is not a huge problem on college campuses, so police should be spending their time, energy and money on enforcing and fixing more important and pressing issues such as violent crimes like rape and assault.
The fact that cigarettes and alcohol are legal makes it almost hypocritical to make marijuana illegal. The health concerns regarding marijuana are less severe than with cigarettes and alcohol.
The state would save a huge amount of money if they stopped arresting people for marijuana possession and they would be able to focus their energy on the real criminal issues facing our society today.
