An unexpected and controversial city ordinance passed by a narrow margin yesterday in the small town of Ossining, New York – best known for its maximum security prison, Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

City officials introduced a bill that would legalize the use of marijuana within Sing Sing, and called for a special referendum at a town hall meeting Monday. The bill received majority support and will effectively make the possession and consumption of marijuana legal within the walls of the prison when it takes effect in early fall 2007.

“Our hope is that this bill will encourage left-leaning environmentalists, jazz musicians, the staff of High Times magazine and other miscreants throughout the Northeast United States to begin to think of Sing Sing as a liberal enclave and elect to move in. We envision being able to increase the prison population tenfold, thus creating new jobs for the citizens of Ossining while taking dangerous pot smokers off the streets,” said Councilman Phil Chambers, author of the so-called “Free to Smoke” bill.