Pubdate: Sat, 2 Oct 2010
Source: San Bernardino Sun (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.sbsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1417
Author: Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Referenced: The Law http://drugsense.org/url/YICbFwgj
Cited: Proposition 19 http://yeson19.com/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/find?272 (Proposition 19)

Schwarzenegger Signs Bill To Reduce Pot Possession Penalty

A speeding ticket. Possessing an ounce or less of marijuana.

It's all the same, according to a bill signed late Thursday by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger that reduces possession of an ounce or less of
marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, with a maximum
punishment of a $100 fine.

"In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys,
law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited
resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a
traffic ticket," Schwarzenegger said after signing Senate Bill 1449.

As a misdemeanor, possession of up to an ounce of pot was still
punishable by a $100 fine only and no jail time. But offenders also
faced arrest, a possible court appearance and a criminal record.

Local marijuana advocates applauded the bill.

"That's a step in the right direction, even if it's for the wrong
reasons," said Clare Lundy, director of Calm Collective, a mobile
medical marijuana dispensary in Rancho Cucamonga.

After signing the bill, Schwarzenegger said he opposed
decriminalizing the possession and recreational use of marijuana.

He also voiced opposition to Proposition 19, which is on the November
ballot, calling it a "deeply flawed measure" that will adversely
impact California's businesses without bringing in the tax revenues
promised by its supporters.

Proposition 19 would more or less make the new law irrelevant by
legalizing possession of up to an ounce for personal use for adults
21 and older.

Schwarzenegger said he supported S.B. 1449 because it would save the
state courts money.

The bill authored by San Francisco Democratic Sen. Mark Leno was
supported by the Judicial Council of California - the official
policymaking body of the court system - and by the California
District Attorneys Association.

California's major police associations all opposed the legislation.

Fontana Police Chief Rodney Jones opposed the bill, saying marijuana
is harmful for people.

"I think philosophically . . . the reason why I oppose this bill is,
we can't keep decriminalizing this type of behavior," Jones said.

Paul Chabot, founder of the Coalition for a Drug Free California,
called the governor's action a "disturbing and disappointing" move
that will lead to more marijuana use and abuse. "It sounds like the
governor got . . . the same talking points of marijuana advocates,"
Chabot said. "This is a very symbolic gesture tipping the hand in
favor of those who want to legalize drugs."

Authorities made more than 61,000 arrests for marijuana-related
misdemeanors in 2008, the latest year for which data exists,
California Department of Justice records show.

In the prior decade, such arrests averaged about 48,000 until 2006,
when the figure exceeded 50,000 for the first time.
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Pubdate: Sat, 2 Oct 2010
Source: New York Times (NY)
Page: A9
Copyright: 2010 The New York Times Company
Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Jesse McKinley
Referenced: The Law http://drugsense.org/url/YICbFwgj
Cited: Proposition 19 http://yeson19.com/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/find?272 (Proposition 19)

CALIFORNIA REDUCES ITS PENALTY FOR MARIJUANA

SAN FRANCISCO - A month before California voters decide the fate of a
ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that essentially puts those caught
possessing small amounts of the drug on the same level as those
caught speeding on the freeway.

The governor - who has come out against the ballot measure,
Proposition 19 - cast the new law's effect as largely administrative,
changing the crime of possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction,
the lowest level of offense under state law.

And like everything else in a state struggling with a $19 billion
deficit, money mattered, too.

"The only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal
defendant is entitled to a jury trial," Mr. Schwarzenegger said in a
statement that accompanied his signature. "In this time of drastic
budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and the
courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime
that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket."

Under the law, SB 1449, possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is
punishable by a $100 fine. But offenders would not be arrested or
risk having a criminal record, something that drug legalization
groups applauded on Friday.

Stephen Gutwillig, the California state director for the Drug Policy
Alliance, a group based in New York that advocates for drug law
reform, said the law could be particularly meaningful for black men,
who have been found to be arrested for possession at far higher rates
than white men.

"It's important because it ends an epidemic of race-based targeting
of misdemeanor marijuana arrests in California," Mr. Gutwillig said.

About a dozen states have softened their stance on marijuana over the
years, including Massachusetts, where voters passed a ballot
initiative in 2008 that made possession of less than one ounce a
civil offense punishable by a $100 fine. (Minors also have to take a
drug awareness class.)

In his signing statement, Mr. Schwarzenegger was firm in his
opposition to Proposition 19, which would legalize, tax and regulate
the use of marijuana for those over 21, calling the measure "deeply flawed."

But as is the case with so many other things in California, where the
governor's approval ratings are at rock bottom, many voters might not
see things his way. A Field Poll released on Sunday found that 49
percent of voters approved of Proposition 19, with 42 percent against.
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