Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 2015
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Becky Schlikerman

WAITING FOR THE HIGH SIGN

Bill That Would Decriminalize Small Amounts of Marijuana Is Through 
the Illinois House and Senate; Decision Now Up to Gov. Rauner

Police won't be able to arrest Illinoisans for having small amounts 
of marijuana if a bill passed by lawmakers gets Gov. Bruce Rauner's signature.

On Thursday, the Illinois Senate joined the House in passing a bill 
that makes possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana a noncriminal 
offense. Instead, police would issue a ticket and a fine of no more than $125.

The Senate also sent Rauner a bill that would extend the state's 
delayed medical marijuana program, which has an imminent expiration date.

But it's unclear whether Rauner will sign the pot bills.

He opposes the extension, and Catherine Kelly, a spokeswoman for 
Rauner, reiterated on Thursday the governor's stance that there's "a 
lot of time left to evaluate a pilot program, andwe should not extend 
the program until it has been fully evaluated."

As for the so-called decriminalization bill, she would say only, "The 
governor will carefully consider any legislation that crosses his desk."

The decriminalization bill would allow for the civil penalty to be 
expunged from a person's record. The bill also clarifies, for the 
first time, how much THC, an intoxicating chemical in marijuana, a 
driver can have in his system to be considered an impaired driver. 
It's similar to what drivers who drink too much alcohol face, said 
Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), who sponsored the bill in the House.

Some Illinois municipalities have similar local ordinances that allow 
police to simply ticket those in possession of small amounts of 
marijuana. In Chicago, police can issue tickets for possession under 
15 grams, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel supports the bill. But under 
state law now, for first-time offenders, possession of up to 30 grams 
of marijuana is a misdemeanor. Possession of more than that is a felony.

Using marijuana is "wrong, and I would encourage the children of this 
state . . . to abstain from the use of this substance," Sen. Michael 
Noland (D-Elgin), the sponsor, said on the Senate floor. "But people 
do imbibe . . . and it should not be something that is a scarlet 
letter in their social lives [and] also in their professional lives."

But the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police opposes this bill 
and will ask Rauner not to allow it to become law, said Laimutis 
Nargelenas, manager of governmental relations for the group.

"Every six months, the ticket issued is expunged and it allows people 
to continue to possess these amounts," he said, adding that 15 grams 
of marijuana is about 30 joints.

And police officials are worried that the level of marijuana allowed 
in a person's system is too high and could lead to more accidents, 
Nargelenas said.

Cassidy, though, disagrees. She said lawmakers worked with 
prosecutors. She said the bill makes "impaired driving with regard to 
marijuana more easily prosecuted."

Some lawmakers didn't support the bill, which passed 37 to 19.

The Illinois Department of Corrections estimates the bill would save 
nearly $30 million over the first 10 years if the bill becomes law. 
That's doesn't include the financial impact on county jails and 
state's attorney's offices, which mostly end up dealing with 
low-level drug possession cases.

Noland said he expects the governor will sign the bill.

"Considering that he has formed a commission on sentencing reform . . 
. and the charge of that commission is to reduce jail and prison 
population, I have to believe he would consider it favorably," Noland 
said after the bill was heard on the Senate floor.

The medical marijuana program extension bill, which seeks to extend 
the program four years from when the first dispensary begins 
officially operating, passed 33 to 16 with six senators voting present.

The program now is set to expire at the end of 2017, causing 
sleepless nights for entrepreneurs building multimillion-dollar 
medical marijuana farms across the state.

Sen. William Haine, D-Alton, sponsored the bill and told senators, 
"the inept rollout of the program by the previous administration" has 
caused the need for the extension.

Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), who has championed the bill and the medical 
marijuana program, said he hopes the governor will sign the 
extension. Otherwise, it's veto-proof in the House, and there's a 
"very strong majority" in the Senate, Lang said. "The governor knows 
what to do."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom