Schwarzenegger Tells Leno: 'No one cares if you smoke a joint'

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that he suspects Californians voted against legalizing recreational use of marijuana in last Tuesday’s election because a law he signed this year has all but decriminalized smoking pot.

The new law, SB 1449, signed by the governor last month, changes possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in California from a misdemeanor to an infraction, which Schwarzenegger said is like “a speeding  ticket.”

“No one cares if you smoke a joint or not,” he said in an appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”  “But, I mean, this Proposition 19 went a little bit too far, I think, and it was written badly.”

Voters defeated the ballot measure last week, 46% to 54%.

--Evan Halper in Sacramento