Marijuana decriminalized in five Mich. cities, but police still plan to make arrests

[Jazzy]

DETROIT - Residents in a handful of Michigan cities voted to decriminalize the personal use and possession of small amounts of marijuana on Tuesday, but police in at least one of the locales say they plan to make arrests anyway, reports CBS Detroit.



In Flint, about 60 percent of ballots counted were in favor of a change to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. CBS Detroit reports police say that since marijuana is illegal under state and federal law, their enforcement practices will not change.



We're still police officers and we're still empowered to enforce the laws of the state of Michigan and the United States, said Flint police Chief Alvern Lock. We're still going to enforce the laws as we've been enforcing them.



Brian Morrissey of Coalition for a Safer Flint, the group that gathered signatures to get the initiative on the ballot, said he's disappointed with the city's decision.



If the city police want to follow state law rather than city law, then maybe the state should be paying their salary, Morrissey said.

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The people have voted. The police need to listen to the people or there will be hell to pay when arrests are made.

 

[Evil Eye]

Wouldn't be very democratic of them not to listen.