Kentucky’s Lower Penalities For Marijuana Now in Effect

Graphic: Sheree Krider

​Kentucky, long known as a state where excellent marijuana is grown, has lowered its penalties for possession of up to eight ounces of the herb, effective Friday, June 24.

Back in March the Kentucky Legislature overwhelmingly passed (97-2 in the House; 38-0 in the Senate) House Bill 463, which was then signed into law by Governor Steve Bershear. The new law reduces the penalty for personal possession of up to eight ounces of pot to a Class B misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of 45 days in jail.

But don’t get too carried away; those penalties are just for first offenses. Subsequent offenses with up to eight ounces are still felonies, for which you can get up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

It appears that individuals solely accused of marijuana possession, less than eight ounces, will normally be cited — not arrested — under HB 463, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. If there are reasonable grounds to believe the individual will appear in court, the law provides that people may not arrest people for misdemeanors.

There are a few exceptions, but those should not apply when the only charge is marijuana possession and the defendant follows “reasonable instructions,” according to MPP.

The new law is expected to save Kentucky’s taxpayers up to $422 million over the next 10 years by making it no longer necessary to prosecute and jail low-risk cannabis offenders. It also reinvests some of those savings into treatment options for those needing help, reports Mickey Martin at West Coast Leaf.

Currently, one-fourth of Kentucky’s prisoners are serving time for drug-related offenses. HB 463 was based on the recommendations of a report by the Task Force on the Penal Code and Controlled Substances Act, which was created to find cheaper alternatives to incarceration.

Historically, it has been really easy to get your ass busted in Kentucky. In fact, the Bluegrass State is tied for third in the nation in marijuana arrest rates and, until the new law came into effect on June 24, for marijuana penalties for possession of one ounce.

Kentucky arrested a whopping 20,329 people for marijuana offenses in 2007.

Massachusettes Court: Odor Of Pot Not Enough To Order Suspect To Exit Car

Photo: Flawless Hustle

Yes, I know what the car smells like, officer. Maybe you haven’t heard about the decision from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

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Huge Victory In Massachusetts Limits Police Power

It’s a logical outcome of decrim, and it finally happened today. The mere odor of burning marijuana is no longer reason enough for police officers to order a person out of their car in Massachusetts, now that possession of less than an ounce of pot has been decriminalized there, the state’s highest court ruled on Tuesday.

“Without at least some other additional fact to bolster a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, the odor of burnt marijuana alone cannot reasonably provide suspicion of criminal activity to justify an exit order,” the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a decision written by Chief Justice Roderick Ireland, reports Martin Finucane at the Boston Globe.

Photo: News @ Northeastern

I like this guy: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick Ireland

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According to the court, the people’s intent in passing a ballot question which decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis was “clear: possession of one ounce or less of marijuana should not be considered a serious infraction worthy of criminal sanction.”

“Ferreting out decriminalized conduct with the same fervor associated with the pursuit of serious criminal conduct is neither desired by the public not in accord with the plain language of the statute,” the court ruled.

In a long-overdue triumph of logic, the court ruled that the change in the law should — you guessed it! — affect how police behave in the field.

Justice Judith Cowin, who has since retired, wrote a dissent in the 5-1 decision. She wrote that up until this ruling, Massachusetts state law has allowed police to perform a warrantless search if they smelled burnt marijuana in a car.

“Even though possession of a small amount of marijuana is now no longer criminal, it may serve as the basis for a reasonable suspicion that activities involving marijuana, that are indeed criminal, are underway,” she wrote in a torturous example of non-logic.

“Our case law is clear that ‘the odor of marijuana is sufficiently distinctive that it alone can supply probable cause to believe that marijuana is nearby,’ ” Cowin wrote.

“The advent of decriminalization certainly has had no effect on the distinctiveness of marijuana’s odor. Nor has decriminalization affected the criminal status of numerous other activities involving marijuana,” she wrote, inadvertently revealing that her fevered imagination around what those potheads must be doing is a lot keener than is her shaky legal acumen.

Massachusetts voters in November 2008 overwhelmingly approved Question 2, which decriminalized marijuana, with backers calling for a “more sensible approach” to marijuana laws and asking law enforcement to focus on more serious and violent crimes.