The Herald reports:
Miami-Dade commissioners voted Tuesday to let police treat marijuana possession the same way they do littering and loitering — by issuing a civil citation with a $100 fine that keeps the offense out of the criminal system. “We have better things to do with our police resources,” said Commissioner Sally Heyman, sponsor of the ordinance. “For goodness’ sakes, we don't have to destroy the lives of so many.” The change in county code passed 10-3, marking a milestone in how Florida's largest local government treats marijuana offenses. The new ordinance gives police officers the option of either charging pot possession as a criminal misdemeanor or as a civil offense — which brings a fine but no criminal record — for possession of 20 grams or less, enough for about three dozen joints. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article25858318.html#storylink=cpyOne could go on, discussing ad nauseam the failure of government's war on drugs, but for just one moment let's celebrate the small window opening on reason and rationality in Miami-Dade.
8 comments:
I hate to admit this, I had a brownie at Xmas and felt like I was tripping. I was so dizzy I had to go home to bed. The pot today is so much more potent than I remember. I ate dozens of brownies over the years and nothing happened. I am afraid we will end up with a generation of vegetables Twittering nonsense on the Computer all day if pot is legalized for recreational use.
You mean kind of like the generation now?
Is it true that something close to 75% of the prison population are there for drug offenses.
Your headline is wrong; it's always been a criminal misdemeanor under state law. Now officers have the 'discretion' to charge it as a civil code violation.
This is a big step for those of us who feel pot should be legal.
However, I think we're going to see a huge increase in disparate treatment because of this.
People from West Kendall and Pinecrest will be given a civil violation fine and those from Overtown and Miami Gardens will be arrested because of the arbitrary nature of how an officer can enforce.
My guess is that the percentage of blacks involved in pot arrests actually jumps higher than 55 % of all arrests because the rich college kids in in West Dade and Coral Gables won't factor into the number of arrests anymore.
Its good news. I hope your not right Anonymous. I really do. I'm very ambivalent about legalizing pot. We really do need for medicinal use. There's nothing like it for nausea and to help someone get their appetite back. I love the idea of selling it and taxing the hell out of it. Maybe we could do that and save up for a reservoir that would send the water south! Oh :( i forgot we had the money for that and it was stolen!
My guess is people will be paying the local lawyers a set fee of $5,000 to get the records sealed. I suspect the tourists will get misled on this. Justin Bieber pay out more than $50,000 to get his case settled out. Miami Beach has one of the worst histories of arresting tourists. They are going to try this next.
People won't need records sealed - that's the whole point. If it's a civil violation it doesn't go onto an FDLE record. it's not an arrest. You don't have to disclose it when looking for a job or housing.
And for Justin Bieber, any good criminal defense attorney would've been able to get his case reduced to careless - If he paid $50K for that he's more of a sucker than I thought.
What are the procedures for removing civil cases from record? How much do civil shielding and sealing cost? Anybody?
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