(2010-10-01) California Reduces Marijuana Penalties

A month before California voters decide the fate of a ballot initiative that would legalize Marijuana, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that essentially puts those caught possessing small amounts of the drug on the same level as those caught speeding on the freeway... The governor — who has come out against the ballot measure, Proposition 19 (so is he trying to pitch that the Proposition is unncessary?) — cast the new law’s effect as largely administrative, changing the crime of possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction, the lowest level of offense under state law... About a dozen states have softened their stance on marijuana over the years, including Massachusetts, where voters passed a ballot initiative in 2008 that made possession of less than one ounce a civil offense punishable by a $100 fine. (Minors also have to take a drug awareness class.)