GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) – This November, voters in Grand Rapids may have a chance to decide whether possessing marijuana should be a civil infraction instead of a criminal one.

Members of Decriminalize Grand Rapids collected more than 10,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot. They only needed about 6,000.

“I think people across the city understand that decriminalizing marijuana is definitely a smarter policy, because it saves tax payer dollars and keeps our kids out of jail. It’s just that simple,” the group’s Tyler Nickerson told WWJ Newsradio 950.

Nickerson said they’ve still got a long way to go.

“We still need to of course educate and inform the voters of Grand Rapids the importance of this initiative and why this is a smarter way. In the meantime, we’re still working with the Attorney General’s office to get the ballot language approved,” he said.

If voters approve the measure, those who possess marijuana would not be thrown in jail but would, in most cases, pay a fine.

WWJ has place a call to the Attorney General’s office’s for comment.