Illinois legislature Pushing to Decriminalize Marijuana Statewide

April 20, 2016
AggregatedNews
Illinois, Policy & Legal
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The Illinois Senate took another stab at decriminalizing marijuana statewide, approving a measure Tuesday aimed at satisfying Gov. Bruce Rauner’s concerns that led him to veto a similar bill last year.

The idea is that people caught with small amounts of marijuana would be fined instead of receiving jail time. The first-term Republican governor contended the old version would have let people carry too much marijuana and set fines too low.

The new edition drops the number of grams allowed from 15 to 10 and raises the range of fines from $55 to $125 to between $100 and $200.

Opponents argued that amount was still too lax, saying it was the equivalent of as many as 20 cigarette-sized joints. Supporters joked about that. [Read more at the Chicago Tribune]

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