Pompo

Decriminalize pot
3/28/09|The Day| Editorial

Few people go to jail for possessing small amounts of pot, anyway, so why is the state spending millions to arrest and prosecute recreational users and give them a criminal record?

The Connecticut General Assembly should follow Massachusetts' lead and change possession of less than one ounce of marijuana from a criminal misdemeanor to an infraction. Gov. M. Jodi Rell is looking for substantive ways to save money. Here is one.

According to the Office of Fiscal Analysis, there were 9,928 marijuana arrests in Connecticut in 2007, representing 7 percent of total arrests statewide, and about one-third of those involved possession of less than an ounce of pot. By making those small-possession incidents infractions, akin to getting a speeding ticket, the state could save $11 million in reduced police, court and attorney costs, the OFA concluded.

And with fines ranging up to $121, it could generate $320,000 in revenue. A small-time marijuana user can now be sent to prison for a year and fined $1,000.

In reality, few people caught with a little marijuana and guilty of no other crime get jail time, but they often get a criminal record. That is a harsh penalty to pay for recreational use.

The more logical alternative is legalization, which would remove the criminal element from the marijuana trade, generate tax revenues and provide quality control to avoid lacing of the drug with other substances. But that option is not feasible as long as possession remains a federal crime.

On this issue the public appears ahead of the politicians. When President Barack Obama conducted the first online chat by a president Thursday, he was surprised to learn that one of the top questions asked was whether marijuana should be legalized, taxed and regulated to end the massive black market supporting it.

”The answer is no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow the economy,” said the president.

In the nation's federalist system the states often serve as incubators of new and different ideas. Time will tell how decriminalization works. If it doesn't generate “reefer madness,” maybe then it will be time for a discussion on legalization.