New Decriminalized Pot Plan Nets $98,000 In Fines

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jan 11, 2013 8:20PM

Last summer the City Council opted to decriminalize possession of small quantitites of marijuana, allowing cops to write tickets instead of making arrests, and reports show the program has brought nearly $98,000 in fines.

The ordinance allows police the ability to write tickets to people found holding 15 grams or less of marijuana ranging from $250 to $500. Once an officer writes the ticket, he'll seize the stash for testing. If it's proven to be cannabis, the officer signs an affidavit, and the person who had the pot receives a fine in the mail. Like with red light camera tickets, the offender has seven days to pay the fine or request a hearing in administrative court.

According to the Tribune, police wrote 380 tickets for pot possession between Aug. 4, (the day the policy went into effect), and Dec. 25.

The Tribune writes:

Of the 380 cases, administrative law judges found 138 of those accused were liable, meaning they violated the ordinance. All but two were slapped with a $250 fine.

People failed to show up for 128 cases and all but three were hit with the maximum $500 fine.

Another 55 cases are pending, the city's attorney dropped 32 cases and hearing officers dismissed 27. That means 380 cases were diverted from the criminal courts system, and $98,000 isn't not enough to fix the city's debt problem, but hey, it's more than we get from the parking meters.