[420 Girl]

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger indicated this morning that he may veto legislation passed Tuesday by the County Board to decriminalize carrying small amounts of marijuana.

"I don't know how this popped up, and I haven't done a lot of research," he told WGN-AM 720 host Greg Jarrett.

"Off the top of my head, I don't think it's such a great idea. I'm not really an advocate of trying to decriminalize the drug that people start before they move on to the higher stuff."
In a surprise move, the County Board Tuesday voted to decriminalize possession of less than 10 grams of pot in unincorporated areas of Cook County. Those are the areas in which the county's sheriff's police have jurisdiction.

The measure gives sheriff's police and deputies the latitude to arrest a suspect on a misdemeanor charge or, under the new legislation, issue a $200 ticket if 10 grams or less is being carried.

A spokesman for County Sheriff Tom Dart said Tuesday that the move caught the department by surprise.

The measure was pushed by Commissioner Earlean Collins, a Chicago Democrat, who said her grandson was busted for carrying a small amount of pot. She said arrests like that clog the jails.

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