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District of Columbia mayor Vincent Gray signed a bill on Monday that decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana in the U.S. capital city.
Business Week reports that the law makes possession of under an ounce a mere civil violation, to be fined only $25. For comparison, that's less than the amount of most parking tickets issued in the ciy.
According to The Verge, the penalty for possession of the same amount of marijuana was previously a misdemeanor subject to punishment of a $1000 fine or six-months jail time. Although possession is now a civil violation, public consumption is still a misdemeanor, and violators may go to jail for 60 days or be fined $500.
A significant factor in the passage of the bill has been the issue of keeping enforcement fair, as the harsh punishment up until now fell primarily on black residents of the city. According to 2013 study by the Washington Lawyers' Committee, nine out of 10 arrests for possession were of black men.
Outside of Colorado and Washington, which have legalized recreational marijuana use, the nation's capital now has the most lax policies on cannabis possession in the country.