On Friday, Delaware will legalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis. As of right now, eighteen other states have decriminalized marijuana. In the last two years, four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational possession of marijuana, so activists hope that decisions like that of Delaware will be a step in ending marijuana prohibition throughout the country.
In June, the Delaware state legislature passed a bill getting rid of severe criminal penalties for small possession of an ounce or less of the drug. In the past, that could have led to three months in jail. Now, similar to a traffic ticket, it merely leads to a civil violation with a fine.
“Delaware’s marijuana policy is about to become a lot more reasonable,” Karen O’Keefe, who lobbied for the bill as state policies director for the Marijuana Policy Project, stated. “Most people agree adults should not face jail time or the life-altering consequences of a criminal record just for possessing a substance that is safer than alcohol. Taxpayers certainly don’t want to foot the bill for it, and fortunately, they will not have to any longer.”
Yet there are still numerous circumstances where the police of Delaware can arrest somebody for having just a bit of cannabis. Smoking marijuana is still a misdemeanor that could result in up to a year in jail.
“People should do this in their own homes,” state Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said to local news website Delaware Online. “It should not be done in cars. It should be done in the privacy of your own home.”
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