E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAt a press conference, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel discusses his support of a new ordinance allowing cops to ticket people for possession of marijuana rather than making an arrest.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel explained publicly for the first time Tuesday why he is throwing his support behind a controversial proposal that would give police officers the option to ticket, rather than arrest, people for having small amounts of marijuana.
"It’s not decriminalization. It's dealing with it in a different way and a different penalty," Emanuel said Tuesday at an unrelated press conference.
The mayor last week issued a statement announcing his backing for the proposal introduced last fall by Alderman Danny Solis.
He said he changed his stance on the matter after his administration analyzed the amount of police time used to chase and prosecute suspected users, especially given that many of the cases are thrown out in court.
"I got comfortable with this because I think this is the right thing to do for a number of reasons. It does not undermine what we're trying to do on fighting crime," Emanuel said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
For more visit NBCChicago.com.
People currently found to possess small amounts of marijuana face a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,500 fine. The proposal stipulates police officers would have the option to write tickets with fines ranging from $100 to $500 for people carrying 15 grams or less of marijuana, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Emanual also announced he had amended the proposal so that a portion of any revenue collected would be earmarked for an anti-drug campaign aimed at kids.
"I want to make sure our children get a clear and unambiguous message as it relates to drug use: it is wrong and it is dangerous," the mayor said.
A majority of Chicago aldermen signed on to the proposed ordinance, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has long endorsed a change to the area's pot policies. Police Supt. Garry McCarthy's support of the idea has been tepid.
Some aldermen worry about how police officers will apply the discretion they would be granted, the Chicago Tribune reported. Alderman Ed Burke said Monday he needs more information before deciding whether he'll support the proposal.
The mayor said the move would free up police resources and save the city about $1 million.
The plan will be considered Thursday by the Committee on Public Safety, the Chicago Tribune reported, before it goes before the full council on June 27.
NBCChicago.com contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- No charge for man who killed daughter's molester
- Bridging the digital divide in America's rural schools
- Record heat forecast for Northeast
- Sandusky's wife testifies she never heard or saw evidence of abuse
- Fort Hood shooting suspect barred from court for beard
- Video: Vandal seen spray-painting Picasso painting
Leave a Comment:
Tonight, my friend/semi-partner, showed me his new medical marijuana card.
Now he is a young, strong man. I've seen him lift engine blocks. He says it's just a matter of finding the right doctor.
His card says he can also cultivate up to 12 plants.
This mis-use is why you should NEVER allow medical MJ in your state.
aztumbleweed.....and how is this any different than YOU drinking till you puke?
No different, if I were to drink. But I'm against ALL drugs, and alcohol.
Read my statement at 336.1, just above.
Any more bright thoughts?
J Edgar Hoover: "There's no such thing as organized crime."
Raum Emanual:" What street gangs?"
"This mis-use is why you should NEVER allow medical MJ in your state."
Wrong, cards and clinics are already having a huge impact pushing unsafe/unsavory product off of the streets, and driving down the demand for its importation from organized criminals.
I knew all the "legalize pot" posters would be out in full force. Actually, the fine idea is a good one- not because i'm pro-pot (i'm not), but because it saves the taxpayers money, frees up court time etc.
I have watched enough episodes of "DEA" and "The First 48", to know that comparing pot to alcohol is a joke. I know some people who drink to excess, but they generally don't rob or kill people and carry AK 47s in order to buy a six pack. Pot and other so-called recreational drugs are way too often gateway drugs to harder substances. Alcohol is a gateway drug to....more alcohol.
Don't post to me about drunk drivers...i know the story....all i am saying is that legalizing pot would be a bad idea.........this country is in bad enough shape as it is.
Uh, schizophrenic much?
LOL
its you losers(appeasersfate)that have never tried it,and dont know squat about it...."oh its the devils weed!"....you people make me sick,preaching on the evils of weed ,when you're worse with your alcohol,marijuana can give back to the community (in taxes and fines),alcohol and tobacco will NEVER give back to the community....its an individuals choice......thats what america is all about.....each and every one of us makes the choice,its not up to you......im just glad you dont have the political power to throw us further back into the dark ages....
Gee, and I was told, pot suckers were "mellow". LOL.
trifectapat....i've been smoking since 1971..........i can't remember the last time i got out my AK and chewed up a school or two......gateway...what an uninformed fool....its not the drug, its the "P E R S O N"...can you say type a?....you backwoods FREAKIN moron....i see your descisions come from the almighty TV....figures...
have none of you MORONS looked at the DATA??????.....pot makes you sleepy or hungry....THATS IT!!! Why the F@CK is alcohol and tobacco legal?(especially when it they have killed MORE people the all the wars combined)...is because the government can make money on it ...i say put it on the same level as alcohol,no open containers,no driving under the influance,i you have under an ounce,nothing.....over 1/4 lb...fines....more than lb.,your a dealer...current penalties stand....somethings gotta be worked out people....there is too big of a gap between us,(legal vs illeagal)....not only do we have to fight the uninformed(appeasersfate trifectapat)we also have to fight the lobbiest....MAKE LOBBYING ILLEGAL...these big companies (alcohol,tobacco,pharmacutical)don't want pot legalized...they would lose BILLIONS.......
Just think how many more brain cells you'd have, and how much money you would have saved, if you weren't a criminal druggie.
its geriatric throwbacks like yourself, that keeps us in the dark ages,just looking at your photo,i KNOW you're on drugs,ancients like you, can't function without a Dr's perscription.....check it out pops...i was born 1957,went in the military in '73...got out in 76...been working construction the last 35 years,in phoenix(ya,i'm here) ...i take no medication,i drink no alcohol,i smoke no ciggerattes.......at 55, i can run most people into the ground......you look like you're fighting for every breath.....so tell me ...hows that medication, that gives you...loss of blood pressure,increase in pressure,loss of consciousness,hair loss,vision loss anal leakage,vomiting,thoughts of suicide,miscarriges,blood clots,loss of taste,touch,hearing?just to name a few....side effects of pot....increased appitite(great for chemo patients)..sleep(great for insomniacs)....you look like you're a drinker too....how about telling us the virtues of booze?the way i see it,the sooner your generation is out of power ,THE BETTER...so tell me again biblethumper,why is pot bad???
A "big rig" driver with a bad temper is very dangerous. Add to that marijuana, and we're waiting for a car load of kids to be killed.
I have over 2million miles, accident free, truck driving (1955-2001). I'm a former "safety man". So I DO have some knowledge.
i dont drive a truck for a living genius....but i agree,all you meth head truckers need random piss tests...and FACTS aren't a bad temper pops...call it ...rightous indignation....kinda like criminal druggie
mj laws are more stupid wasteful and destructive than prohibiution ever was. our jails and courts and the whole criminal justice system is a mess as a result.
no one has ever died from a marijuana overdose. it is a pyhsical impossibility. it is safer than booze or anything else out there that " kills your ills".
the cops and the criminal justice complex have billions riding on keeping it illegal. see who olbbies against it. cops and people who sell things to cops. illegal pot is a 3 billion dollar industry for the drug fighters. decriminalize pot and 2 billion of that goes away. more money is spent fighting pot than all the other illegal drugs put together.
another stupid situation we find ourselves in today because of reagan (just say no) and the other conservatives that want goverment out of your life, but in your bedroom telling you who and how you can f*** and deciding what you can and can't do with your body.
Arizona: Obvious uninformed troll is obvious and uninformed.
Also, booze not a gateway drug? el oh el. I wonder how many people were turned on to their first line of cocaine over a few harmless barley pops...
anyone who carries,sells or uses drugs is a criminal. don't care what you believe about pot. it's against the law PERIOD. thanks to all you drug users for giving the cartels a reason for existing. without you they would have no purpose. THANKS AGAIN LOSERS
Your comment could just as easily read:
"Thanks to all you prohibitionist politicians for giving the cartels a reason for existing. Without you, they would have no purpose. THANKS AGAIN LOSERS!"
There was no crime syndicate associated with drugs until criminalization created a black market. You don't see Miller beheading Budweiser execs in an attempt to acquire Budweiser's market share, do you? Marlboro men shooting up birthday parties of the Lucky Strike fellows? Yeah. Thought not.
Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view.” Obi-Wan Kenobi
Youre coveted lawmakers outsourced the opportunity for cartels to supply a domestic demand, I tell you this, in regards to marijuana alone (r.e what the article is about) if us citizens were able to grow without fear or unnecessary hardship or incarceration you can bet grandfathers watch that other countries would certainly stop sending packages, trucks, tankers, airplanes- ect, ect full of month old poorly grown garfweed to be routinely scrutinized by out DEA agents. Cause guess what mate... wait...here it comes..
No one would be buying it. The bloody competition for those DOMESTIC U.S DOLLARS$$$ would cease and desist all on its own volition in a very relatively benign course.
The demand weather justifiable or morally appealing or not, isnt going anywhere. Thats been proven over the last couple of decades, nay century. If you want to assign moral culpability to this state of affairs you need to look at all parties involved, no matter what their "faction" and question which one is being the most unnecessarily difficult and unreasonable about it.
i am a childhood cancer survivor and a current research scientist. no matter how you OBJECTIVELY analyze the issue of recreational cannabis use, the crimes for manufacturing, distributing, and consuming this substance are egregiously excessive. this is very sad as it has great potential for many uses: therapuetic, industrial, clothing, fuel, etc. and most importantly, the lethal dose is astronomical, rendering the drug safer than over-the-counter aspirin when comparing annual deaths. All of the NEGATIVE EFFECTS of cannabis use are a DIRECT RESULT OF CRIMINALIZATION, and not the drug itself. We cannot continue this irrational societal behavior of punishing people for choosing a safe method of relaxation that has been employed by cultures for thousands of years. When will we wake up and realize it is wrong to control the actions of people, and try and stop people from their right to enjoy natural products the earth provides for us. So frustrating.
Finally! It's about time some common sense prevailed. This "war on drugs" has not, and will not, ever work. Just legalize it and you take the money that we spend fighting it and have it to spend on other, more important, things. Not to mention that the taxation of it would even more money back into the economy that we desperately need. Use your heads people! LEGALIZE IT!!