House passes bill decriminalizing pot

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - The House has given final approval to a bill which will decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. It now heads to Gov. Dannel Malloy, who has said he will sign the bill into law.

It took a tie breaking vote over the weekend in the Senate by Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman to get the decriminalization bill to the House. Opponents in the House made the same arguments against making this move.

"To say in this bill; it's no big deal, it's equivalent to a parking fine or a speeding ticket is encouraging more kids to use marijuana, and that's a bad thing," said Rep. Larry Cafero, R-Minority Leader.

Proponents of the bill don't believe pot smoking is safe, they just believe this is a smarter and more efficient way to punish young people who might experiment with the weed.

"Having a conversation about something that you believe as a public policy matter is unsafe and dangerous, and then saying, 'but a small amount's not so bad'. I mean, forget the message you send to kids, that's not a message as policymakers you want to send," said Rep. Themis Klarides, R-Derby.

Governor Malloy, who is a former prosecutor, fully supports the measure, helped get it passed, and is ready to sign.

"I think we're the twelfth or thirteenth state to move in this direction. It has positive criminal justice outcomes, including cutting costs. It's the right thing to do, it's the right time to do it," Malloy noted.

Malloy and other advocates believe that prosecuting young people on this does more harm than good. Under this, if you're under 21 and are caught with less than one-half of an ounce of marijuana you will pay a $150 dollar and lose your driver's license for 60 days. Supporters of this say that's actually a tougher penalty than under current law.