A judge has dismissed marijuana possession charges against a New York state assemblyman who was stopped for speeding last month.

The lawyer for Assemblyman Stephen Katz, a Republican from Mohegan Lake in the Hudson Valley, says there were difficulties in proving he had marijuana when he was stopped March 12 on the state Thruway. Police say they pulled him over for driving 80 mph in a 65-mph zone, smelled marijuana and found a small bag of the drug.

Susan Chana (HAH’-nuh) Lask says the marijuana charge, a violation, was dropped in court Thursday and the speeding ticket was reduced to a parking violation. Katz was fined $75 and ordered to perform 20 hours community service.

A spokesman for Katz says the assemblyman would not comment.

(AP)