Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Morales says her office will no longer prosecute possession of marijuana cases in the Portsmouth General District Court.
In a letter Morales sent to the judges earlier this week, she says the policy change is effective immediately and that all cases would be dismissed with the payment of court costs.
Morales tells 10 On Your Side she started having conversations with judges in March, and they are on board with dismissing the charges.
"It's really important for us to think as a criminal justice system about why we are doing the things we are and the way were are doing them," Morales told 10 On Your Side's Jason Marks. "It is really time we think about how we start to decarcerate as opposed to incarcerating for every type of crime. This is one those cases we really don't have dangerous violent occurrences resulting from possession of marijuana."