MJ moment

City officials in Madison, Wisconsin, have voted to remove most local penalties for marijuana possession and consumption, effectively allowing cannabis use by all adults 18 and older. The Madison Common Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to approve a package of three ordinances overhauling the city’s marijuana laws. Taken together, the changes permit adults to carry up to about an ounce (28 grams) of cannabis locally and consume it on public or private property. Possession of marijuana paraphernalia will also be allowed. Smoking cannabis will remain prohibited in places where cigarettes or other tobacco devices are banned, and no one can have marijuana on school buses or within 1,000 feet of a school. Consumption on private property, meanwhile, requires permission of the property owner, landlord or tenant; otherwise it will carry a $1 fine. Laws against marijuana distribution will remain intact, allowing police to bring charges against anyone they suspect of selling the drug. Driving under the influence of a controlled substance also remains illegal. Alderman Michel E. Verveer (D), who introduced the legislation, said at the meeting that the changes were “long overdue.” “The reality is that we shouldn’t even be talking about this tonight,” Verveer said, calling it “preposterous and outrageous that the Wisconsin state legislature has not moved long ago toward legal and regulated adult use of cannabis, like so many other states have across the country, including many of our neighboring states.” Verveer has worked to get his colleagues on board, and as of last month more than half of the council had signed on as co-sponsors, virtually guaranteeing passage of the measures. While the new policies in Madison won’t establish a commercial cannabis industry, Vermeer said that eventual legalization would bring in significant tax revenue and other benefits for the state. Reforms, including the local…

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Source : Lawmakers In Wisconsin Capital Vote To Allow Marijuana Use In Public

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