According to DNAinfo Chicago, the percentage of people fined for the possession of marijuana in Chicago has greatly increased over the past year. However, an activist group is questioning why more than 60 percent of those found in possession of marijuana are still arrested. [caption id="attachment_8159" align="alignright" width="256"] Charlene Carruthers[/caption] The national coordinator for Black Youth Project 100, Charlene Carruthers, says that Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy “has said over…

The Chicago Tribune reported that Mayor Rahm Emanuel called on the General Assembly to replace criminal penalties with civil penalties for the possession of marijuana statewide at a state legislative hearing today. During the 90 minutes of testimony before the House-Senate Joint Criminal Reform Committee in Chicago, the mayor urged lawmakers to challenge the “assumptions that are embedded in the criminal justice system” and argued that reducing the penalties for minor drug possession would allow…