GR voters decriminalize marijuana

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Getting caught with some marijuana in Grand Rapids is now a civil infraction similar to a parking ticket after voters OK'd the city-wide Proposal 2.

With 74% of votes in, Proposal 2 showed 60% of Grand Rapids residents voted "yes" on the proposal, while 40% voted "no."

Modeled after Ann Arbor's decades-old law, Proposal 2 makes a first-time marijuana possession offense a $25 fine, $50 for a second offense and $100 for the third (and any subsequent) offenses.

It would not change the law regarding selling marijuana .

"We're spending $2.5 million a year to arrest people usually between the ages of 18 and 25, which results not only in lost money because we're not getting much positive again out of it. We're not curbing use rates," Michael Tuffelmire, the director of Decriminalize GR , told 24 Hour News 8 in October.

In September, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, former mayor John Logie, current city commissioners and State Rep. Brandon Dillon all appeared at a press conference put on by Decriminalize GR organizers to support the plan.