Nov 14
Washington State Senator Looks To Treat Marijuana Possession Like A Traffic Ticket
A forum on decriminalizing marijuana and making the offense punishable as a civil infraction will be the subject of an upcoming forum in Edmonds, the Daily Herald reports.
My state senator, Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Queen Anne), will participate in a panel discussion with travel writer Rick Steves, former U.S. Attorney John McKay, and attorney and former White House Advisor Egil "Bud" Krogh. It appears that Rep. Mary Helen Roberts (D-Lynnwood) might sign as a House sponsor.
The idea is simple - treat low possessory amounts of marijuana like a speeding ticket or nontraffic civil infraction, save millions of dollars in incarceration and court costs, and bring in revenue (presumably millions of dollars) for people cited for marijuana possession as a civil infraction.
What is less clear though are these items: why the legislation proposes a $100 fine and why juveniles would get sanctioned criminally but adults would not.
A $100 penalty for marijuana possession would be less than an HOV or lane change infraction, so perhaps legislators need to revisit the amount assessed for this proposed infraction, and whether the traffic version of a marijuana possession infraction would be a moving violation like possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle (which also carries a higher fine than $100).
Second, it hardly seems fair that juveniles would receive detention ("juvy jail") for marijuana possession but adults would be able to pay a fine with no criminal sanctions. Penalizing juvenile offenders more harshly than adults is unfair on its face nor would it be helpful for juvenile offenders who would have criminal records for marijuana possession when that same possession would be decriminalized if the juvenile were an adult.
Third, the topic of marijuana decriminalization should be discussed in the broader context of our alcohol laws. While decriminalization of marijuana could be a civil infraction for 19- or 20-year-olds, individuals this same age would still be charged as adults for the crime of minor in possession of alcohol. Legislators should consider decriminalizing certain alcohol offenses. Without certain changes, state law becomes inconsistent and appears to favor an illegal substance over a legal one, with a ticket for the illegal substance (marijuana) and jail time for the legal substance (alcohol possessed by an underage individual).
I commend Senator Kohl-Welles for fostering a discussion on these important items.
