Indiana Republican Proposes Legislation Decriminalizing Pot

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Sep 21, 2012 10:20PM

A Republican legislator in Indiana says he's proposing a bill that would make possession of marijuana in quantities of 10 grams or less an infraction. “I don’t think mere possession alone is worth involving the entire judicial system and all that’s involved with it,” said state Sen. Brent Steele of Bedford in central Indiana.

The Indianapolis Business Journal writes:

Many other states and college campuses already treat possession of small amounts of pot as an infraction, which means the offender is ticketed, not arrested.

“Society didn’t melt down, and we didn’t turn into a drug-crazed culture as a result of it,” Steele said.

This is a big get for the cause. Steele is an influential legislator and chairman of the Senate committee on corrections, criminal and civil matters. He said the provision would be part of a bill to change criminal code

Chicago's recently passed marijuana law decriminalized quantities under 15 grams. As far as we can tell, we haven't turned into a "drug-crazed culture" either.