Possession of small amounts of marijuana will soon no longer be a crime in Connecticut.
After five hours of debate, legislators in the state House of Representatives gave final passage today to a bill that reduces the penalty for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction. In a statement, Gov. Dannel Malloy promised to sign the legislation, which passed by a vote of 90 to 57.
“Final approval of this legislation accepts the reality that the current law does more harm than good — both in the impact it has on people’s lives and the burden it places on police, prosecutors and probation officers of the criminal justice system,” Malloy said in the statement.
While some of the bill’s opponents argued that it paves the way for full legalization of marijuana, Malloy stressed that decriminalization does not make the drug legal. Still, he said, “the punishment should fit the crime.”
A first offense for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana carries possible jail time and fines starting at $1000 under the current law.
Read the full story at the Yale Daily News.
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