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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.
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Leave a Comment:
Ask the kid buried in St. Mary's if and how he got started on dope ???
Then graduated up to crack - thenm graduated up to burglary to fill his junk
habit - Then death from kidney failure all at the age of 26 !!
Yes - let the kids smoke it.....then watch.......
Wake up!
Bet that kid started with cigarettes, alcohol, and 50-percent-sugar-breakfast-cereals first....
To make an informed opinion on the marijuana debate, you need to start with the "Marijuana Tax Act of 1937".
Pot wasn't even considered a drug until this act.
A study of this event and those connected to making it happen will lead most intelligent people to the conclusion that pot is illegal STRICTLY and SOLELY due to politics, and the greed associated with all things political.
That pot is supposedly "dangerous" was simply the guise under which our lawmakers and Amercians were fooled.
Pot is illegal because of the associated hemp-pulp. Hemp-pulp has exponential more uses than wood-pulp.
In otherwords, the wood-pulp industry was seriously threatened by the rising hemp-pulp industry. At one time all the rope used by the U.S. Navy was made from hemp. Amongst the uses of hemp-pulp include all the uses by wood-pulp but also, additive for food, clothing, even fuel.
Can you imagine an industrial Nation fueled by pot? It grows like weeds.
Don't bring "reefer madness" into the debate - it's bull sh't.
Meanwhile, our Nation continues to be saddled with our draconian pot laws.
We don't have to close any prisons, we could just keep the violent offenders inside for longer terms. Maybe some more dirty wall street brokers, could fill a few of the available bunks.
Now I know why this great country is losing its good ol' days, the majority are crack/pot heads.
this will take way too long to get this subject turned around, it seems we still have too many old white a$$holes running this country that dictate behind closed doors. i`d like to hear what they would have to say after pot gets legal and see how it would take care of the debt
Then talk to the black leader of the country and get it legalized. I am sure his intimate knowledge of using will be helpful for him in getting it done.
upfront
What are you,an old black pothead?
I would like to see marijuana legal across the board and possibly regulated, if possible. Just to let people know, I do not have any dealings with the stuff and don't care if you use or not. Having seen it on TV and pictures of it is the only way I know how it looks. I do know and associate with plenty of people that do smoke pot and besides being more laid back and getting the occasional munches, it poses no problem. I think if we legalize it and possibly regulate it, not only will more revenue be generated, it might create more jobs.
Being able to run all our 18 wheelers on filtered hemp seed oil, for 89 cents a gallon won't hurt the price of groceries, either.
Alcohol is worse for you than pot. It's criminal to keep pot illegal. God created it. Are you going to arrest God for dealing and creating the seed? I think not.
Alcohol is worse for you than pot. It's criminal to keep pot illegal. God created it. Are you going to arrest God for dealing and creating the seed? I think not.
YES ! ! ! As a first step in a more sane and workable means of addressing drug usage in the US, the Mayor of Chicago is breaking new ground by downgrading pot possession/usage to a misdemeanor punishable by fine, from a felony punishable by jail time. This step now frees law enforcement and the Judicial dockets to address the more serious and deadly drugs available on the street and the criminals who smuggle and distribute them.
He's not "breaking new ground". Philly did this a few years ago. Pot was reduced to a "traffic ticket" offense where someone who broke the law could go to a four-hour drug education course, pay a small fine, and not have it appear on their record.
The city of Philadelphia estimates this saves them two million dollars a year in court costs alone.
Don't particularly like the mayor or his city, but what he's saying at least makes sense. A ticket and a fine for a plant that is more and more being legalized for medical purposes and is still used by people recreationally is reasonable. Alcohol and Rx abuse is more of a societal problem than pot, so if Chicago wants to put less focus (not legalize or decriminalize) on that to put more focus elsewhere, then so be it.
Unfortunately, in our country you have to choose one radical ideology or another, as seen in the previous posts. At some point, common sense is going to have to prevail over partisan BS, or we are going to find ourselves circling the drain. It's an idea, something than can be tried and rescinded if necessary, or if it works out as intended then OMG progress.
A Professor Grinspoon from Harvard wrote a book in the 60s "Marijuana Reconsidered." He claimed that George Washington smoked pot, because he saw a passage in Washington's diary that told of separating the male and female plants. Hemp was grown in those days for rope and other commercial purposes, but hemp is not separated unless it is going to be smoked!
Of course, hemp is used for rope, and rope is used for????
Legalizing will not work any more than 'legalizing' smokes and booze of any kind. If there was a guarantee, ha, that abusers would be reponsible for their own medical I'd say legalize. Since when has anyone thats been drugged silly been rational? Psycho centers, hospitals and prisons are full of these freaks, so lets give Rahm a chance. He's gotta have something going for him . . . . . in Chicago?
Statistics on the palliative effects of marijuana, would likely result in lower health insurance premiums for pot smokers.
I'am calling my phamacist as I type
Good idea. Now why don't you do something to put all the shooters up there in jail!
Cost to the taxpayers to house them in jail. Give them a fine and if they don't pay, take their DL or jail time.
Pot smokers deserve hard time in the Penitentiary - not merely Jail!!
VOTE ROMNEY IN NOVEMBER!!
Lower taxes, more military spending, and enough jails to store everyone who smokes a little herb.....let me guess, he's going to balance the budget, too?
I think pot should be legalized but if not that the following: If their is going to be an ordinance it should tell the police what to do period. They should not have the option to make a greater charge, this could lead to misuse of power or targeting what the police believe to be a "criminal" without other proof to put them in the system. Fines are OK, they should be $25 to 50 dollars and set in stone for a specific amount.
The idea that smoking pot hasn't killed anyone is sheer stupidity. I had two friends who died from it. One directly from cancer and the other from drowning after his larnyx was removed due to marijuana induce cancer and then having a marijuana induced epileptic seizure and falling into water drowning from inhaling water directly into his lungs through the hole in his throat. And then there is the DUI incidents that peaked in the late 60s. As far as legalizine pot is concerned, NEVER! But throwing people in jail/prison for it is a stupid waste of resources. Fine the hell out of them. Have an increasing scale of fimes, like DUIs. On the fourth offense is when jail time should come into play.
That has been the law in Oregon since 1985,$25 fine.Glad to see other states Finally catching up.
WTF is up with that guy beside Rohm? Give that guy some hemp an fire it up. He really needs to loosen up. Dang. That dude could be a poster child for fleet enemas.
It should be legal. Period.