The Chicago Sun Times reports that the City of Chicago’s City Council’s Committee on Public Safety approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. Exceptions, such as anyone under 17 without proper identification and anyone caught openly smoking on a school ground or park would be arrested, were made. The proposal will be voted on by the city council this week. Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, one of the supporters of the proposal, said it will allow for a better use of the police force’s time.

“This is going to free up man hours so we can get the benefit of the stop and the investigation. … When we stop people for small things, we end up doing a warrant check. They might be wanted for a murder. That’s how we’re gonna prevent another crime from happening. We’re getting the benefit of what we need to do as far as the interactions, without the residual downside of spending all the time processing and arrest that’s not gonna be prosecuted.”

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