The state will be examining whether it should change some of its marijuana laws over the next two months in a legislative committee.
The General Assembly’s Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee is looking at different angles of the marijuana issue, including the effects of marijuana on the criminal justice system, whether penalties should be adjusted for certain amounts, whether the state should have a medical marijuana program, and whether it should be regulated like alcohol.
State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, wanted to have the state look at changing the laws after observing several court cases.
“One day, I watched three young kids plead cases on possession of small amounts,” Tallian said. “I thought, ‘Why are we spending all of the time and money to do this?’ Frankly, I put marijuana in the same category as alcohol.”
Medical marijuana is available in 16 states and the District of Columbia, and 13 states have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, meaning that there’s no jail time or criminal record for first-time possession.
Tallian started talking to her colleagues about taking a look at the state’s “draconian” laws.
“All kinds of people said that we ought to look at it, but ‘I’m not putting my name on it,’ ” she said. “I knew that I wasn’t going get anywhere by saying, ‘Let’s make it legal,’ so I decided to get the information and see where it goes.”
The committee will meet at 1 p.m. July 14, and the hearing will be webcast at in.gov/legislative.
An agenda hasn’t been released for the meeting yet, so it’s unclear if the marijuana study will be discussed.
But Tallian will be ready when the marijuana study comes up since the person who requested the study usually lines up people to testify.
“I’ve got testimony from all different groups,” she said. “They keep calling me wondering when it’s going to be. I had them lined up when the bill was in the senate — medical people, criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement. There are a wide range of people interested in the topic.”