Bill: Get busted for a little pot, keep your drivers license

Get busted with a joint or a small bag of pot? You could keep your drivers license under legislation introduced in the state House on Tuesday.

House Bill 283, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Allison, R-Blairsville, changes the state Controlled Substances Act that says drivers licenses of anyone convicted of a wide variety of crimes related to marijuana is suspended. Instead, Allison's bill adds a line that says, "provided however, that this Code section shall not apply to convictions for simple possession of marijuana occurring on or after July 1, 2015."

It’s still a crime, of course, to possess any amount of pot, but HB 283 takes some of the bite out of the penalty.