Wednesday, October 23, 2013, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) offered his first unequivocal support for decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, adding momentum to a legislative proposal that has the support of a supermajority on the D.C. Council and could make the District one of the nation’s most lenient jurisdictions on marijuana possession.
Under a measure proposed by council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in the District would no longer be punishable by six months in jail and a penalty of $1,000.
“I support decriminalization. Legalization is another issue. I’m not there on that issue, yet,” Mayor Vincent Gray
Instead, those caught with amounts of the drug deemed for personal use would risk only a civil charge and a ticket of $100.
via The Washington Post’s Aaron C. Davis
A version of this article appeared in print on Wednesday, October 23, 2013, of The Washington Post with the headline: Gray backs bill to decriminalize pot possession by Aaron Davis.
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