The Impacts Of Decriminalizing Marijuana

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – How much pot is too much?

Apparently the magic number is 30 ounces or more. One city in Mississippi says if you have less than that – it’s not a big deal.

You can now be caught in possession of less than 30 grams of Marijuana, in the state’s capital city, without a trip to jail.

“What they are speaking about is, an ounce or more is a felony amount. That’s what the state statute says. It’s actually 28.35 equals an ounce. For package weight and everything else. So one ounce is a pretty significant amount but it’s not huge,” said Lowndes County Narcotics Director Archie Williams.

Under the new Jackson city ordinance, the fine will shrink to $100.

Ward 5 city councilman Stephen Jones says if the same proposal were in place here, he could see it being more profitable in the long run.

“I think that it would be more like a speeding ticket. You’re more likely to get the money now that it’s become just a ticket. You write them a ticket and they go home and have to come back and pay that ticket. You’re more likely to get paid for it because the fine is not so high,” said Jones.

Williams says decriminalizing cannabis wouldn’t change his day to day one bit.

“We’ve been dealing with the Marijuana laws, I’ve been doing this 18 years and it hasn’t changed and we still concentrate on all aspects and enforce all aspects of the drug law. One or the other wouldn’t make a big difference either way. I don’t see a change at all,” said Williams.

Jones says decriminalization of small amounts of pot would allow law enforcement to see the more harmful drug dealers clearer.

“I think that frees up your officers and drug enforcement agents to be able to focus on bigger drugs. Your meth, pills and different things of that sort,” said Jones.

Williams says today it might be Marijuana but there’s no telling what’s next.

“What would be the next step? Are you allowed to run one red light a day but don’t let us catch you running two? The first DUI is on us and then we’ll catch you on the second. If you look at it in that way I don’t see it being a good thing,” said Williams.

The Jackson council’s decision will go into effect next month.