Suburban lawmaker's plan to decriminalize marijuana rejected
A proposal to to decriminalize marijuana in Illinois has been snuffed out, at least for now.
An Illinois Senate panel today rejected state Sen. Mike Noland's plan, which would have allowed people to have at least five marijuana plants and eliminate criminal penalties for having up to 30 grams of the drug.
The Elgin Democrat told fellow lawmakers he knew the plan was controversial and hoped they'd keep it alive for further discussion and potential changes.
“It's going to move very slowly, very deliberately,” Noland said.
They declined to move it to the Senate floor.
Noland has argued that decrimilizing marijuana would allow police to focus on violent crimes. Illinois has legalized medical marijuana, but that program has been delayed and no one in the state has yet bought the drug legally.