Governor signs California marijuana decriminalization bill

  Quote

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation that will reduce the crime of possession of an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, handing a victory to marijuana advocates one month before November's state vote to legalize pot for recreational use.

 

The governor's signature of Senate Bill 1449 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, will not reduce actual penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Under California law, misdemeanor possession of less than an ounce was already punishable as infraction - with offenders facing fines of $100.

 

Marijuana advocates say the governor's decision to sign the bill will significantly reduce the number of cases clogging California courts by removing the misdemeanor tag.

 

Schwarzenegger said he signed Leno's bill because "possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is infraction in everything but name."

 

Yet despite signing the bill, Schwarzenegger said he strongly opposes the Proposition 19 measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use for California adults over 21, allow small residential cultivation and permit local cities and counties to tax retail pot sales.

 

"I am opposed to decriminalizing the possession and recreational use of marijuana and oppose Proposition 19," the governor said in his bill signing statement. "Unfortunately, Proposition 19 is a deeply flawed measure...that will adversely impact California's businesses without bringing in the tax revenues to the state promised by its proponents."

 

Dale Gieringer, California director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, says the governor's signature cemented the first reduction of marijuana penalties in California in 35 years. In 1975, the state decriminalized minor marijuana possession by imposing the misdemeanor and maximum $100 fine.

 

Gieringer said misdemeanor defendants still needed to be processed by the court system.

 

"Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state's taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders," he said in a statement. "Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources."

 

Some law enforcement lobbyists fought the legislation, arguing that it took power away from judges and prosecutors to reduce misdemeanor offenses to citations in exchange for defendants going into drug treatment.

FREE AT LAST!

For me, yeah... not for you in your pacific northwestern prison!

  On 10/2/2010 at 2:27 AM, wake said:

For me, yeah... not for you in your pacific northwestern prison!

Governor signs California marijuana decriminalization bill

  On 10/2/2010 at 2:19 AM, karmakramer said:

 

FREE AT LAST!

karmakramer

Location:Seattle, WA

lol

Pay attention to who's wearing the prisoner's outfit in this.

  On 10/2/2010 at 2:27 AM, karmakramer said:

  On 10/2/2010 at 2:29 AM, ruiagnelo said:

Governor signs California marijuana decriminalization bill

 

  On 10/2/2010 at 2:19 AM, karmakramer said:

 

FREE AT LAST!

 

karmakramer

Location:Seattle, WA

 

lol

HAI at least im not housebroken

neat thread tho

LOL at karkramkemaker making the trip to California for smoking one or two joints legally.

pretty cool. stoked to be moving there next year for just one more reason.

  On 10/2/2010 at 4:50 AM, underscore said:

pretty cool. stoked to be moving there next year for just one more reason.

You're making the biggest mistake of your life.

  On 10/2/2010 at 6:07 AM, wake said:

  On 10/2/2010 at 4:50 AM, underscore said:

pretty cool. stoked to be moving there next year for just one more reason.

 

You're making the biggest mistake of your life.

you're being pretty melodramatic. i've lived in cali a few times and love it.

  On 10/2/2010 at 6:33 AM, underscore said:

  On 10/2/2010 at 6:07 AM, wake said:

  On 10/2/2010 at 4:50 AM, underscore said:

pretty cool. stoked to be moving there next year for just one more reason.

 

You're making the biggest mistake of your life.

 

you're being pretty melodramatic. i've lived in cali a few times and love it.

You're making the biggest mistake of your life... again.

Let's keep things animated.

While a step in the right direction, I don't see how this changes anything too drastically. Let me know when growing and selling weed is a proper legit business in Cali, that could then have some effects on a global scale with regards to how weed is seen.

So the lesson is. If you want to legalize just make it such a big problem the government cant deal with it.

  On 10/2/2010 at 2:01 PM, chassis said:

So the lesson is. If you want to legalize just make it such a big problem the government cant deal with it.

took a tip from prohibition eh?

i'm trying to quit green right now. keep getting heart palpitations when i smoke and it's doing my box in. i have been smoking pretty much daily for nigh on twenty years though so maybe it's time to knock it on the head. not had a joint for 2 days thus far....went for a run today instead. nearly had a stroke.

  On 10/2/2010 at 5:18 PM, BCM said:

i'm trying to quit green right now. keep getting heart palpitations when i smoke and it's doing my box in. i have been smoking pretty much daily for nigh on twenty years though so maybe it's time to knock it on the head. not had a joint for 2 days thus far....went for a run today instead. nearly had a stroke.

sorry to hear that...get lots of fresh air and ride a bike everywhere and and when you do smoke, dont smoke joints...a bong or vape is healthier in the long run

yeah, i might look into getting a vaporiser, but will see how I feel after a couple of weeks off the weed...might just not use it anymore whatsoever. got nothing against it at all and definitely think it should be legalised, just think i've had my time with it now.

cali's going to break in half and sink into the pacific anyways.

*i smoke so much weed, but i need to stop for this diversion program, a much needed break nonetheless...

*goes to smoke a j in a playground*

i'm canadian.

well let's hope clubs in San francisco stop being psychotic about weed smoking. LAst time i went to the Mezzanine to see Autechre , AE played in pitch blackness as many here know. People would try to light up one-hitter pipes while they performed and immediately get an extremely bright LED flashlight shined down at them by a bouncer on the upper floor. For the entire set you were being blinded by bouncer LED flashlight strobes from above. it was really fucking annoying. I mean i know clubs are liable for illegal activity inside but jesus christ man the fuck up, be more worried about your patrons injuring themselves from drunken stumbles than a few dudes wanting to smoke up.

What's society going to do when they eliminate this particular witch hunt? We'll need to come up with a new enemy to replace all those evil potheads that are taking society to the brink of moral collapse..