On January 1, 2009, Massachusetts became the 12^th state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. In November, voters passed a referendum which made possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a civil offense with a $100 fine. Anyone under the age of 18 caught with an ounce or less of marijuana will need to complete a drug awareness course or face a $1000 fine.

Proponents of the new law (which was supported by 65% of voters) believe that it will keep thousands from having a criminal record, which can make it harder to get a job, a loan, or gain access to public housing. Supporters also say that the law will save taxpayers $30 million in costs associated with marijuana arrests (http://www.whas11.com/lifestyles/stories/WHAS11_081110_Lifestyles_JustPublished.19dba0620.html). var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));