Legal marijuana in CT??

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_12041642

If this bill passes, it will be another step closer to legalizing marijuana. The bill will reduce the penalties for marijuana possession. Specifically, if you had between half an ounce to four ounces of marijuana, you would not be charged with possession of drugs. You could be ticketed for up to $250, but you would not go to jail or court. Predictably, the bill, which still has to pass the state Senate and House, is causing a lot of controversy. Governor Rell has all but threatened to veto the bill if it passes.

Personally, I think the bill is a bad idea. Just because if you have a half-ounce of marijuana you're less dangerous than a reckless driver doesn't mean that you must lower the charges on one of the crimes. The state is forgetting that owning drugs is illegal and has many consequences both on the users and the community. Increase in crime? Check. Higher rate of uninsured patients in hospitals? Check. More families on welfare? Check. Drugs are even contributing to the Mexican drug cartel war that is rapidly spreading over into our borders. As long as Americans keep getting hooked, these problems will continue. Decriminalizing marijuana is going to make the situation much worse.

Also, the News-Times article wasn't the best article in the world, either. It never actually states how much marijuana would be the limit, as it only says what the "Threshold" would be. Is a half-ounce the lower or upper limit for the penalty? If it is upper, then it isn't much of a penalty decrease but a lower threshold doesn't make sense. Also, the last 3 paragraphs about the senator who ate marijuana-laced brownies doesn't belong in the news article. The rest of the quotes were relevant and showed the controversy surrounding the bill, but the anecdote did nothing but leave the reader with a different idea after finishing the story. It would have been better if it was cut.