Delaware is moving closer to decriminalizing marijuana possession after the state's House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to approve legislation that would replace criminal penalties with civil fines for adults apprehended with small amounts of the drug, the (Wilmington) News Journal reported.

Marijuana possession would be treated akin to a traffic violation, making it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200 and imprisonment of up to five days, the Associated Press detailed; it would no longer be considered a criminal offense.

However, violators under the age of 18 would still face criminal penalties for possessing marijuana, and those between 18 and 21 would do so upon their second arrest. Selling the drug would also still be a criminal offense, as would smoking it in a moving vehicle, in a park, on a sidewalk and in other public places.

Lawmakers in the lower chamber of Delaware's legislature approved the move on Tuesday in a 24-14 vote; their bill now heads to the Senate, where Democrats, who have pushed the legislation, hold the majority. Gov. Jack Markell, also a Democrat, has said that he supports decriminalization efforts and would sign it into law.

Republicans, on the other hand, have voiced opposition to the effort, and no House GOP member voted in favor of the legislation, the News Journal noted. Rep. Ruth Briggs King, a Republican from Georgetown, warned that the legislation might end up emboldening drug dealers.

"This product is unregulated," Briggs King said. "And it leaves the public and the user at risk. If we think this is going to stop the war on drugs, or help, it won't. Those dealers are going to sense the type of open market because they know unless they are caught in the transaction, nothing is going to happen. The notion no one gets hurt is very wrong."

But Rep. Helene Keeley, a Democrat from Wilmington and the bill's prime sponsor, said some of the opponents' concerns are exaggerated.

"You will not see people walking down the street smoking marijuana," Keeley illustrated. "You will not see people in a mall. You will not see people in a park."