CA Bill Would Increase Fine for MJ

5/2

SACRAMENTO - A bill that would increase the fine for possession of
one oz. or less of marijuana to $250 has been reported out of the
Senate Public Safety Committee. The bill, SB 797 by Sen. Gloria
Romero, would also make first-time possession offenses a "wobblet,"
meaning that the offense could be optionally charged as an infraction
instead of a misdemeanor.
Cal NORML is opposing SB 797 in its present form because it is
too heavily weighted toward penalty increases for marijuana. SB 797
is a watered-down version of last year's bill SB 131 by Sen. Sher,
which would have made ALL MJ possession offenses an infraction. Cal
NORML supports making MJ an infraction, since that would protect
defendants from a criminal record, even though it also deprives them
of the right to a criminal trial. Unfortunately, however, Sen.
Romero modified SB 131 to attract more support from law enforcement
interests by raising the fine and making the infraction optional.
Cal NORML opposes SB 797 in its present form because it is too
heavily weighted towards penalty increases. Unlike SB 131, SB 797
does not guarantee that first-time offenders will get an infraction.
Furthermore, SB 797 substantially raises the fine for MJ possession
from $100 to $250. (In practice, defendants are commonly charged an
additional ~$173 in court expenses, so the real fine would rise from
~$273 to ~$423).
SB 797 was introduced at the last minute as a "gut-and-rewrite"
bill, thereby evading the notice of drug reform lobbyists. It was
approved 4-1 by the Senate Public Safety Committee. Cal NORML urges
supporters to write their State Senators in opposition to SB 797.
- D. Gieringer

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Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml [at] igc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114