"Marijuana smokers in Federal Heights — town motto: Reaching Great Heights — will face lighter penalties when they reach a little higher, The Denver Post reports Monday. The town’s City Council last week cut the maximum fine for pot smokers caught with an ounce or less of the herb from $1,000 to $500 and did away with the possibility of jail time."
"The only lawmaker to vote against the new law said she thought the fine should be set even lower, at $100. “When people use marijuana recreationally it’s not a major crime, and people shouldn’t pay high fines for it,” Tanya Ishikawa told the Post. “Personally, I think $500 is too high, especially in these times.”"
This is great news. Mandatory fines and sentences are just ridiculous. First it defines the arbiters to be idiots as to not have their say on the laws of the matter. Are the judges that stupid as to not be able to follow guidelines? Is there that much corruption that that we need mandatory minimums?
If the states are to get by with their budgets they sure need to stop locking up non-violent criminals.
