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The Detroit Election Commission voted 3-0 Monday to reject a Nov. 2 ballot proposal that would have asked Detroit voters to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice (CJCJ) recently released a policy briefing with an analysis of arrest data collected by the California Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Statistics Center. The briefing, “California Youth Crime Plunges to All-Time Low,” identifies a new state marijuana decriminalization law that applies to juveniles, not just adults, as the driving force behind the plummeting arrest totals. Police don’t arrest people for infractions; usually, they ticket them.

Marijuana Decriminalization: Efforts To Relax Pot Rules Gaining Momentum In U.S. - Catharine Leach is married and has two boys, age 2 and 8. She has a good job with a federal contractor and smokes pot most every day. While she worries that her public support for marijuana decriminalization and legalization could cost her a job or bring the police to her door, the 30-year-old Warwick resident said she was tired of feeling like a criminal for using a drug that she said is far less harmful than the glass or wine or can of beer enjoyed by so many others after a long day's work.

The Republican majority in the State Senate is not satisfied with a proposal by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to decriminalize the open possession of small amounts of marijuana and will not pass it in its current form, the chamber’s top lawmaker said Wednesday.

In 2011, marijuana possession arrests totaled 663,032 — more than arrests for all violent crimes combined. Possession arrests have nearly doubled since 1980, according to an FBI report, while teen marijuana use recently reached a 30-year high.

CONCORD, N.H. — A bill to decriminalize marijuana possession under one-half ounce is flying high into the House with an endorsement by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

A medical marijuana shop's offer of free pot in exchange for registering to vote appears to have gone up in smoke. Your Healthy Choice Clinic of Lansing, Mich., had been offering a half gram on its website ahead of a vote for city council seats and after the council approved capping the number of medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits and setting a $1,000 application fee.

Marijuana arrests accounted for more than half of all U.S. drug arrests in 2009, while its use among Americans increased by 8 percent, according to two reports released this week by government officials.

The 110 medical marijuana dispensaries in San Jose will be reduced to only ten after a city council vote to impose new restrictions on pot clubs.

A vote that came in early Tuesday evening would limit the city to only ten dispensaries and only two such establishments per district. The new regulation would also require that marijuana be grown on site at the dispensaries.