Pubdate: Wed, 05 Aug 2015
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2015 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-letters-to-the-editor-htmlstory.html
Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Susannah Bryan

LESSER PENALTY FOR POT WEIGHED

Hallandale Officials Likely to Approve $100 Civil Fine

HALLANDALE BEACH - Gone to pot? Get caught in Hallandale Beach with 
up to 20 grams of marijuana, and you may be looking at a $100 civil 
fine instead of criminal charges.

Following the lead of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County, Hallandale 
Beach city commissioners are expected to give initial approval to the 
new law Wednesday night.

City Commissioner Keith London won quick support from his colleagues 
after pitching the idea in June. Should the measure pass, Hallandale 
Beach might be the first city in Broward County to pass such a measure.

This week, London said he wanted to get minor pot offenses out of the 
criminal system. Right now, people caught with small amounts of weed 
or drug paraphernalia can be sent to jail alongside violent 
criminals, London said. "To put nonviolent [drug users] in jail with 
violent felons is not going to solve our problems," he said. "That's 
why I'm doing this."

Others considering easing the penalty for pot possession include 
Wilton Manors and West Palm Beach, Broward County and Palm Beach County.

Broward commissioners are expected to take up the issue after they 
return from their summer break on Aug. 11.

If the proposal wins approval in Hallandale Beach, cops would still 
have the option of charging anyone with a misdemeanor if they're 
caught with 20 grams of marijuana or less - enough for 10 to 20 
joints, depending on size. Currency, such as a chrage carries a 
maximum sentence of one year in jail.

Last year, Hallandale Beach approved a plan to allow adults charged 
with any nonviolent misdemeanor - including possession of minor 
amounts of marijuana - to enter a misdemeanor diversion program 
requiring them to seek counseling and pay a $500 fine.

London's proposal takes things a step further.

The trend to decriminalize minor marijuana possession has taken hold 
throughout the nation.

So far, 14 states have decriminalized the possession of small amounts 
of weed. Oregon, Alaska, Colorado and Washington allow its 
recreational use. And many other states permit its use for medicinal purposes.

"The war on drugs has been a complete and uttermost failure," London 
said. "We need a new approach. And other parts of the country have 
taken a different approach.
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