Kenney Tries New Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana

Police would have option of arrest or ticket for small amounts of weed.

The Daily News reports that Councilman Jim Kenney is making another attempt to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana — he’ll introduce a new bill today at Council.  “Kenney already wants to end mandatory custodial arrests for small amounts of marijuana, or ‘SAM,’ but this new bill would give police the discretion to arrest ‘bad actors’ or simply issue a ticket carrying a $25 fine.”

Kenney, of course, was behind an earlier gridlocked effort to simply decriminalize small amounts of pot, period: Offenders would’ve been given a ticket and sent on their merry way. Giving police discretion in the new bill may soften the opposition that doomed Kenney’s first attempt.