Florida: Issue fines, not jail terms, for marijuana possession

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In Miami-Dade County, officers may issue a civil citation for minor pot possession. A Palm Beach County commissioner is pushing for a similar change. (Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS)

A wave of sanity is sweeping South Florida and it concerns, of all things, marijuana.

Miami-Dade County commissioners, supported by police, got things rolling on June 30 by giving law-enforcement officials the option of issuing $100 citations for possessing small amounts of pot, instead of charging people with a crime.

The city of Miami Beach, and Broward and Monroe counties are considering doing the same.

And Palm Beach County commissioners are looking into it, too.

Commissioner Priscilla Taylor last month asked Palm Beach County Attorney Denise Nieman to investigate the possibility of the commission passing a measure similar to Miami-Dade’s.

“I am hopeful that we will get an ordinance,” Taylor told The Post Editorial Board.

In the Miami-Dade ordinance, law-enforcement officers can...

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URL: 
http://opinionzone.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/07/18/issue-fines-not-jail-terms-for-marijuana-possession/