Jonathan Starkey

The News Journal

State lawmakers now want to amend marijuana decriminalization legislation to impose civil fines on anyone found in possession of small amounts of marijuana. The legislation, as introduced last week, would have made it legal for anyone 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use.

"Some people thought the way the bill was written we were legalizing it," said Rep. Helene Keeley, a Wilmington Democrat and prime sponsor of the legislation. "That is 100 percent not the intent of the legislation."

Lawmakers in eighteen other states have removed criminal penalties for petty marijuana possession, including Washington and Colorado, which have legalized possession, use and sale of the drug.

A committee of the state House of Representatives was scheduled to debate the legislation Wednesday. Keeley, who has 17 co-sponsors on her bill, instead asked to delay debate a week while lawyers for the state House of Representatives worked on amendments.

Under current Delaware law, possession of even small amounts of marijuana is prosecuted as a misdemeanor, punishable by fines of up to $1,150 and up to six months in jail. Keeley's bill would also impose $100 fines on anyone caught consuming marijuana in public, fines that are likely to rise with any amendment.

House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said he favors decriminalization, saying no one should be prevented from attending a college or landing a job because they were caught with small amounts of marijuana and left with a criminal record. He also decried the use of state resources to prosecute petty marijuana possession.

"Kids experiment. They make bad decisions some times. I don't really think if they light up a joint and smoke a joint that they should be arrested every time," said Schwartzkopf, a retired State Trooper . "I am all in favor of decriminalizing it. I am not in favor of legalizing it."

Contact Jonathan Starkey at 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or at jstarkey@delawareonline.com.