The war on drugs has been a failure, says a state representative who wants to downgrade marijuana possession to a petty offense carrying a $100 fine.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) says the real problem is the dealer who brings cocaine and heroin into the community; not someone with a couple of joints in his or her pocket. Her bill calls for the fine for possession of up to 30 grams of pot.

“Low-level users are not a danger to our communities. They are not a danger to themselves or others,” Cassidy says, adding jailing recreational marijuana users “is not a good use of law-enforcement resources, and, if you want to talk about tax and regulate, we’re leaving money on the table at a time when we desperately need it.”

Cassidy says decriminalization, like same-sex marriage, stands to be a matter of when, not if.

Cassidy says she has experimented with marijuana but does not use it now.