Starting this Saturday, January 1, the penalty for possession with as much as an ounce of marijuana in California will be same as if you had received a parking ticket.

Proponents of legalized marijuana say the relaxed state law is simply a sign that attitudes are changing. With possession being put on the same level as a parking ticket, it is going to be more difficult to make major crimes out of selling, distributing or growing marijuana, said Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University, an Oakland school that specializes in marijuana issues.

Possession of an ounce of marijuana has been a misdemeanor crime punishable with a $100 fine. Under the new state law, the fine is the same but the charge is downgraded to an infraction.

State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, introduced the bill making the change. He said the state could no longer afford to go after people who had committed a crime that carries the same punishment as parking tickets.

Carla Lowe, founder of Citizens against Legalized Marijuana, said the change was the worst new law passed by lawmakers in 2010.

“I believe this has knocked out one of the key pillars of prevention to help kids say we’re not doing drugs,” she said.

Law enforcement groups have also come out against the law, but it has gotten support from some law enforcement officials.

“I think it’s a good thing because it is calling the offense what it has always been, which is an infraction,” said San Mateo District Attorney Jim Fox.

According to the California attorney general, there were an estimated 78,500 arrests in 2008 and 74,000 in 2007 for felony and misdemeanor related charges associated to marijuana.

In November, California pushed a vote for legalizing the use of marijuana under Proposition 19 that would have legalized the plant. There were 53% voting against to 46% voting “yes” in defeat of the “Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act”.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Thursday signed into law a bill that decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. The bill reduces simple possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction.

Currently, small-time pot possession is “semi-decriminalized” in California. There is no possible jail sentence and a maximum $100 fine. But because possession is a misdemeanor, people caught with pot are “arrested,” even if that means only they are served a notice to appear, and they must appear before a court.

That has happened to more than a half million Californians in the last decade, and more than 60,000 last year alone. Every one of them required a court appearance, complete with judge and prosecutor. That costs the cash-strapped state money it desperately needs.

Under the bill signed today, SB 1449, by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), pot possession will be treated like a traffic ticket. The fine will remain at $100, and there will be no arrest record.

In a signing statement, Schwarzenegger said he opposed decriminalization for personal use—and threw in a gratuitous jab at Proposition 19, the tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative—but that the state couldn’t afford the status quo.

“I am signing this measure because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is an infraction in everything but name,” said Schwarzenegger. “The only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a defense attorney. In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket.”

“Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders,” said California NORML director Dale Gieringer. “Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources.”

The law goes into effect January 1. Even if Prop 19 passes in November, it leaves in place misdemeanor charges for smoking in public or in the presence of minors. Those misdemeanors would become infractions under the new law.

Article via StopTheDrugWar

Chris Diaz is facing up to life in prison after being busted for 14 grams of weed and hash.

A Texas asthma sufferer who went to California for a medical marijuana recommendation and then got busted in June on a Texas highway with small amounts of marijuana and hashish is facing up to life in prison after being indicted by a Brown County grand jury.

He is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a first-degree felony in the Lone Star State.

Chris Diaz, 20, has been jailed on $40,000 bond since the June 27 arrest. He was busted with 14 grams of weed and hash.

Under Texas law, possession of less than two ounces of marijuana is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, while possession of hashish is either a state jail felony punishable by up to two years for less than a gram, or a second-class felony punishable by up to 20 years if less than four grams, although probation is also possible. It is unclear exactly how much hash Diaz had.

Diaz was pulled over for an expired license tag while en route from California to Austin, and according to the DPS trooper’s report, could not produce a drivers’ license or proof of insurance. He was then arrested for failure to identify, and during a subsequent search, police found a small amount of hashish on his person. A search of the vehicle then turned up more hash and marijuana in pill bottle from a California medical marijuana provider.

The DPS report said the search also turned up a cell phone “containing text messages referring to drug sales” and a notebook with “drug and law writings.” Those are apparently the basis, legitimate or otherwise, for the drug distribution charge.

Texas does not have a medical marijuana law, and its authorities do not recognize having a recommendation from another state as a defense against prosecution.

Diaz has attracted supporters both inside Texas and nationally. The Texas Coalition for Compassionate Care and a group called I Am Sovereign are publicizing the case and pressuring Brown County officialdom. And the asthmatic Diaz sits in jail in Central Texas awaiting trial, without his medicine.

- Article from StoptheDrugWar.org.

Smith County (East Texas) judges and juries have long had a reputation of meting out severe, some might say ridiculous, punishment for drug convictions. And Henry Wooten’s case is no exception: the 54-year-old Tyler man was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in prison for possessing slightly more than four ounces of pot. Wooten actually got off easy — the prosecutor asked the jury to give him 99 years. (We just hope TDCJ can free up room for this menace to society; maybe the state can release a child molester or serial arsonist to find a cell for Wooten.)

While the sentence may be asinine, we can’t help but feel Wooten brought much of this upon himself — mostly by choosing to be both a pothead and live in Tyler, when clearly that calls for an either/or scenario. But Wooten could have taken at least a few steps to minimize his chances of being busted so easily, and Hair Balls would like to lay out a few of these so that other lovers of the weed in Smith County can take heed.

1.) Don’t smoke weed within 1,000 feet of a day care: According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, “Tyler police officers were alerted to Wooten’s location because of the smell of the marijuana.”

Wooten was puffing near the Ebenezer Day Care Center, in what is known as a “drug-free zone.” People in Smith County don’t like that. So if you’re driving along and you get a sudden urge to light up, take note of your surroundings: if you see lots of parents walking children into a building and then leaving without those children, you might be parked near a school or a day care. Do not, under any circumstances, pack your bowl there. Just go to the nearest liquor store, and you can bet you’ll be outside a drug-free zone. Enjoy!

2.) Don’t let people see you pull a bunch of baggies out of your pocket: Per the same article, Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance told the jury ”Wooten pulled bag after bag from his pockets like one of those clowns you see…” (see Rule No. 3 for the rest of Vance’s quote)

3.) Don’t leave gear in plain sight in your care: ”…and in the driver’s seat of his car was a big bag and digital scales.”

4.) Don’t demand that a private lab test your weed: Although Wooten was perfectly within his rights when he asked a local lab to analyze his weed, we’re guessing he probably annoyed the judge and the prosecutor, and in turn the jury, by this petulant ploy. It’s pretty hard to mistake weed for anything other than weed. Did Wooten think the lab might screw up and report that the sticky green matter in the baggies was in fact spaghetti? Seriously, how fucking high was this guy?

We’re not saying these are get-out-of-jail-free cards, but they’re generally good rules of thumb. If you live in Tyler and you smoke weed, you might want to print this out and keep it in your pocket for future reference.

(Oh, and don’t have two prior convictions on your record. Or, if you do, don’t go doing what this guy did.)