The Lake County Council gave initial support Tuesday to a proposal that would make possession of under 30 grams of marijuana a ticketable offense.
Councilwoman Christine Cid, D-5th, said the change “was initiated” because by Jan. 1 both Illinois and Michigan will have legalized recreational marijuana.
In a 6-0 vote without debate, the council initially approved the ordinance violation, which would give officers the option of giving someone with under 30 grams of marijuana a ticket instead of taking him or her to jail, officials said.
Councilman Daniel Dernulc, R-4th, was absent, though in an interview with the Post-Tribune he said he would have voted in favor of the change.
County officials have stressed that while possession of marijuana under 30 grams would be a ticketable offense, police officers will have discretion and can still give someone a criminal possession charge.
“It’s not legalizing marijuana. It’s just making a small amount a fineable offense,” said Lake County attorney Ray Szarmach.
The ordinance was also proposed as the county figures out how to comply with the state’s Criminal Rule 26, which relates to pretrial release, said Council President Ted Bilski, D-6th.
“We have to do something because we have people coming in from Illinois and Michigan, and it could impact our jail population,” Dernulc said in an interview with the Post-Tribune.
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said ticketing someone for minor possession of marijuana reduces the jail population and keeps officers in their patrol areas instead of booking someone for a possession offense.
But Martinez said county officials, the sheriff’s office and the prosecutor’s office have to work together on how to implement the ordinance violation because marijuana is still illegal in Indiana.
“It’s something that everyone needs to look at the law and see what we can do,” Martinez said.
Bilski said the council passed the ordinance violation on first reading, which means the council has to discuss and vote on the ordinance at a future meeting, to give the sheriff’s office and prosecutor’s office time to review state law, and to figure out how the ordinance could be implemented.
“He’s the professional on how to implement it out in the field,” Bilski said of Martinez.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter previously said that while “it’s not an alarming amount” of people, there are many arrests for marijuana possession in the county. People facing possession charges typically avoid jail time by participating in a drug program, he previously said.
Carter, who strongly opposes the legalization of marijuana, first expressed concern about the county decriminalizing recreational marijuana possession when it is illegal in Indiana. But, he previously said he would uphold the ordinance if the county is legally able to uphold it.
“I think we have to be very careful with marijuana,” Carter previously said.
Councilman Charlie Brown, D-3rd, said police officers are currently “wasting time” if they have to book someone for a minor possession of marijuana charge because it takes them off patrol, which “doesn’t make sense.”
“(The ordinance violation) is saving resources and revenue,” Brown said.
Councilman Christian Jorgensen, R-7th, said he understands the need for the county to take action regarding the possession of marijuana because Lake County is near Illinois and Michigan.
But, as a lawyer, Jorgensen said he has concerns that the ordinance violation will “run foul” with state statute. For that reason, Jorgensen said he was pleased that the council will be able to revisit the ordinance violation again and allow county officials time to figure out how to best move forward with an ordinance violation.
“I believe this is a matter of fist impression for Indiana,” Jorgensen said. “It’s permissible, it should come from us.”
The Lake County Council will discuss the ordinance violation at its Jan. 14 meeting. If approved by the council, the Lake County Board of Commissioners will have to vote on the ordinance before it goes into effect, Bilski said.
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