After months of discussion, Washington, DC's City Council voted 11-1 to decriminalize possession of marijuana on Feb. 4. Exactly one month later they confirmed that decision with a 10-1-1 vote.
The fine for possessing less than an ounce is $25, as of July 17 when the new law went into effect. Read DC's new marijuana enforcement regulations here.
Under the new rules, public smoking remains a crime. Those busted for smoking in public could be fined $500 and jailed for 60 days.
“These last-minute amendments will simply expand stop-and-frisk policies in the District and will do nothing to fight the horrible racial disparity in marijuana enforcement,” says MPP's Dan Riffle.
The vast majority of marijuana arrests in New York are for having pot "in public view" and come via stop and frisks.
Mayor Vincent Gray and Council president Phil Mendelson conspired to add the public smoking amendment to the decrim law. Police chief Cathy Lanier contended there would be widespread public smoking in the District without it.
DC joins other major cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Madison and Portland, Maine that have decriminalized marijuana.
