Legislation to defelonize the personal possession of several drugs has been passed through Oregon’s full legislature and sent to Governor Kate Brown for consideration. The proposed law, House Bill 2355, “Reduces punishment for possession of certain controlled substances [including ecstasy, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine] from felony to misdemeanor”. Possession would remain a felony if the …
In a press release sent Monday the Oregon Association of Police Chiefs and the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association have jointly called for the personal possession of all drugs to be defelonized. This would mean that if a person is in possession of an illegal substance, as long as it’s not for distribution purposes, it would …
LD 1554, a proposal to defelonize the personal possession of drugs such as cocaine and heroin, has been passed into law in Maine. The measure has become law without the signature of Governor Paul LePage. Under the proposed law, the personal possession of small amounts of drugs such as cocaine, heroin, meth and oxycodone would …
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has signed his Second Chance Society bill into law, significantly reforming the state’s drug laws. The new law, in addition to other changes, removes felony charges for the first-time, personal possession of illegal substances, reducing the offense to a misdemeanor. This would reduce the maximum jail sentence to one year, down …
By Associated Press Connecticut’s drug laws will go from some of the most draconian in the country to some of the most lenient this fall when most drug possession crimes are reduced from felonies to misdemeanors, a change that’s increasingly finding common ground between Democrats and Republicans. Possession of small amounts of hard drugs including …
A bill to remove felony charges for personal drug possession, reducing it to a misdemeanor, has been passed by Connecticut’s full Senate with a 22 to 14 vote, according to the Associated Press. The measure, which is part of Governor Dannel Malloy’s Second Chance Society proposal, received wide bipartisan support, including being supported by Senate …
Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) has filed House Resolution 2153, a proposal to make some federal drug crimes a misdemeanor rather than a felony, while simultaneously eliminating the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. HR 2153, To “reclassify certain low-level felonies as misdemeanors, to eliminate the increased penalties for cocaine offenses where the cocaine involved …
Legislation to defelonize the personal possession of illegal substances has been filed in Utah’s House of Representatives. New polling released today shows a strong majority of Utah voters support the move. House Bill 348 would reduce the penalty for the personal possession of illegal substances from a felony, to a class A misdemeanor. New polling …
State Representative Sherry Appleton has filed House Bill 1024, a proposal to remove felony charges for the personal possession of illegal substances, reducing the charge to a simple (non-gross) misdemeanor. According to an official state fiscal note on defelonizing personal drug possession, the proposal would save the state millions of dollars every year, would free …
Legislation to remove felony charges for the personal possession of illegal substances will be prefiled in the Washington State House of Representatives next month by Rep. Sherry Appleton (D, 23rd District), according to the nonprofit organization Sensible Washington. The proposal, which will be identical to House Bill 2116 from the 2014 session, would defelonize personal …
