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Senator Brent Steele

Indiana may be Next State to Decriminalize Marijuana

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As Election Day 2012 quickly approaches, there have been many developments for activists to keep an eye on.  Most of that attention is turned toward many of the ballot initiatives that residents across the country will be voting on.  As public officials have still been hesitant to fully embrace marijuana reform, residents have found only they typically need to take matters into their own hands to try and change the tides of a losing drug policy.

However, there are several states where lawmakers are pushing for change through the traditional legislative process.  Most recently, we learned that an Indiana lawmaker plans to introduce a bill to decriminalize possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana.  State Senator Brent Steele is hoping to change the current law, which calls for a Class A misdemeanor for possession of any marijuana up to 30 grams.  Mr. Steele noted that many other municipalities and college campuses have enacted decriminalization efforts and “Society didn’t melt down, and we didn’t turn into a drug-crazed culture as a result of it.”

The three state wide marijuana legalization bills (Colorado, Oregon, Washington) have received the most media attention as of late, but decriminalization measures may be equally important.  For one, decriminalizing marijuana can have an immediate impact and reduce the time money invested by police officers.  Additionally, courts and prisons are also strained by a high amount of los level marijuana charges.  There are also broad economic implications as well to decriminalization.  These arrests, which impact young non-whites at disproportionate rate have compromised the ability for many people to gain employment.

Even if Brent Steele is not immediately successful in getting this current law passed, new age economics seem likely to only increase calls for marijuana decriminalization.  The slowed economy of the past few years has ignited serious conversations on wasteful spending.  If the country wants to experience better years in front of it, it will require a new approach to how we allocate government resources.

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