Pubdate: Wed, 28 Nov 2012
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2012 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www2.indystar.com/help/letters.html
Website: http://www.indystar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210

DECRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA HAS MERIT

A conversation about whether to decriminalize marijuana already was
percolating in the Indiana Statehouse before State Police
Superintendent Paul Whitesell on Tuesday shared his thoughts on the
matter with members of the State Budget Committee.

Whitesell, a 40-year veteran of law enforcement, went further than
lawmakers might have expected, saying that, if left up to him,
marijuana would be legalized and taxed.

Although state legislators are unlikely to embrace outright
legalization (at least for now), recent public opinion polling shows
that a majority of Hoosiers is ready to accept dropping criminal
penalties against marijuana users who are found with small amounts of
the drug.

Such a move gained fresh traction in the General Assembly this fall
when two legislators -- Republican Sen. Brent Steele and Democratic
Sen. Karen Tallian -- said they plan to introduce bills that would
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Current law
calls for up to a $5,000 fine and a year in jail for possession of up
to 30 grams of the drug. Steele wants to reduce the maximum penalty to
a $500 fine with no threat of jail time for carrying 10 grams or less.

Tallian has unsuccessfully pushed similar bills in the past that would
have decriminalized holding up to 100 grams of marijuana. But a lot
has changed this year. Not only is a conservative Republican -- Steele
- -- now on board with decriminalization but voters in Colorado and
Washington state went so far as to approve legalization of marijuana
this month. A similar referendum failed in Oregon.

Steele approaches the issue from the perspective of a fiscal
conservative, one who notes that more than 14,000 Hoosiers were
convicted last year of marijuana possession. Those convictions require
the expense of involving the police, the courts and in some cases the
corrections system. However, the argument that small-time marijuana
users are a true threat to society is hard to make.

Fifteen states -- including Ohio, North Carolina and Nebraska --
already have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The idea deserves serious consideration in Indiana.
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