Pubdate: Tue, 28 Dec 2010
Source: Imperial Valley Press (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Imperial Valley Press
Contact:  http://www.ivpressonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1877

LIGHTER CRIMINAL OFFENSE FOR MARIJUANA FINDS FAVOR

The majority of area residents interviewed Monday support lessened
criminal penalties for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana.

The new law, SB1449, sponsored by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San
Francisco, takes effect beginning in January along with numerous other
legislation recently signed into law by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger.

For possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana the law changes from a
misdemeanor to an infraction. That means offenders will no longer face
arrest, a criminal record and having to appear in court. The maximum
penalty of a $100 fine and no jail time remains the same as before.

Frankie Lara, owner of Twilight, the Main Street record and poster
store, said, the new law is all the best things a person could ask
for. A lot of people use marijuana recreationally, he said. They are
not bad people but just like people who drink alcohol on the weekends,
he noted.

"I've seen it for 15 years. They're not smoking it in front of kids or
at work," he said. "This frees up the criminal justice system to
prosecute more violent crimes."

Lara also said the law will drive down the price of marijuana and the
proposal has already influenced medical marijuana dispensaries to
lower their prices.

But that feeling was not unanimous. At Valley Plaza some held a
dissenting opinion. Shawn McNeil, an Imperial Valley College student,
feels marijuana possession should remain a misdemeanor because it can
be harmful when people use it while driving.

"Even though pot is not as dangerous as methamphetamine it's
dangerous," McNeil said. "I've seen with my own eyes what other people
under the influence of pot have done to others."

Eric Breitigam, an administrative assistant with Naval Air Facility El
Centro, despite supporting the national laws on marijuana, said the
new state law is a good idea.

"It won't hold up the courts for such a small amount. It's illegal and
people shouldn't have it but some people will get their hands on it
anyway," he said. "For that amount people are not selling it and it is
just for their own consumption."

Carolina Ochoa, another IVC student, called the new law really
reasonable.

She said there is no point to send marijuana users to jail for a
couple of years.

"They should save the space for rapists," Ochoa said. "They're the
ones who deserve it. "They say the jails are packed. And that's
because of the pot smokers. But if you didn't send them to jail, then
they wouldn't be so overcrowded."  
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake