In Chicago Heights, getting caught with an “onion” of pot can get you a ticket. Yes, like a parking ticket.
The far south suburb this week became the latest to adopt an ordinance giving options to cops who find a roach in an ashtray.
In most cases — when the cop doesn’t tell you to just throw the stuff in the sewer — officers spend hours on arrests. There’s fingerprinting and paperwork, and then the officer has to go to court when you visit the judge.
A judge will typically make first-timers go to drug school, and eventually the case is dropped. It’s a lot of work for a few dried-up leaves.
But under the ordinance, 30 grams or less of pot (an onion is about 28 grams, or one ounce, enough for several joints) will yield a ticket and a $250 to $750 fine that won’t show up in a criminal record.
The town keeps the cash.
T.J. Somer, city attorney, said Chicago Heights is not pro-reefer. The goal is to unclog the court system. Several Illinois cities with home-rule designations have adopted such ordinances.
“I’m a big proponent of this,” said attorney John Weimar, who handles pot cases in Alsip and Orland Park. “There should be a weeding-out process.”
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Heh-heh. Weeding out.
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