Marijuana-policy reform is speeding along in Pennsylvania despite a late start.<\/p>\n
The crucial swing state, hit hard by the opiate crisis, legalized medical cannabis just two years ago. But state-funded universities are jumping feet-first into cannabis research, showing initiative not seen even on the West Coast\u2019s legalization playground, and reform-minded cities \u2014 impatient and unwilling to wait for a statewide legalization effort \u2014 are pushing forward with decriminalization efforts.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the City Council of Allentown \u2014 the state\u2019s third-largest and fastest-growing city, not far from Philadelphia \u2014 voted 4 to 3 to end criminal penalties for possession of personal amounts of marijuana.<\/a><\/p>\n Current Pennsylvania law calls for even a minute amount of cannabis to be charged as a misdemeanor, with punishments of up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. If Allentown Mayor Ray O\u2019Connell signs his city\u2019s bill into law, cannabis possession would become an infraction punishable by a $25 fine, similar to a ticket for jaywalking.<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell recently told the Morning Call and other local media outlets that he\u2019s currently unsure if he\u2019ll sign the measure into law, which is another way of saying that he\u2019s not sure who he wants to piss off \u2014 law enforcement, or the public.<\/p>\n This is a balancing act seen all over the country wherever even modest marijuana reform efforts are underway.<\/p>\n All three \u201cno\u201d votes are from members of the council who are former police officers.<\/p>\n Prior to the vote, the local district attorney tried to poison the waters by issuing a memo to councilmembers that a local decriminalization effort would violate state law and is thus illegal.<\/p>\n Jim Martin, the Lehigh County chief prosecutor, issued a memo on May 8 arguing that Allentown\u2019s law would be \u201cunconstitutional and unenforceable.\u201d Similar arguments helped foil a similar effort in Easton, Pennsylvania, where legislators subsequently narrowly defeated a decriminalization effort.<\/p>\n In Allentown\u2019s case, the vote might have been salvaged thanks to the American Civil Liberties Union, which issued a memo to lawmakers that cited case law\u2014and presented examples of other Pennsylvania cities \u2014 to show Martin\u2019s argument was wrong. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, York, State College (home of Pennsylvania State University) and Erie have all passed local decriminalization laws, LehighValleyLive.com noted.<\/a><\/p>\n Allentown\u2019s plan would apply only to people caught with 30 grams or less of cannabis flower or 8 grams or less of hashish, as well as \u201cdrug paraphernalia\u201d used to consume cannabis, like papers, pipes, or grinders. Oftentimes, when low-level marijuana \u201ccrimes\u201d are prosecuted, \u201coffenders\u201d are charged twice \u2014 one misdemeanor for the cannabis, and another (or two) for the implements.<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell now has ten days from Wednesday to decide if the measure will become law, but even if O\u2019Connell signs Allentown\u2019s decriminalization effort into law, it\u2019s unclear what police will do.<\/p>\n The local police chief declined to comment until the law went into effect. As the Morning Call noted<\/a>, it\u2019s possible Allentown police could follow Martin\u2019s lead and choose not to observe the law, arresting cannabis users as before and turning them over to Martin\u2019s office for misdemeanor charges. Not the most democratic move by law-enforcement, choosing which laws to enforce and outright ignoring the less punitive ones, but it would not be the first time.<\/p>\n The episode is yet another demonstration of the vast gulf between the public and the people \u2014 the police \u2014 sworn to serve and protect them.<\/p>\n But it also shows how much local elections matter\u2014and how cannabis could shape them.<\/p>\n In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, close to Allentown, city councilmembers are considering a similar measure \u2014 and they have support from the local DA. Don\u2019t be shocked if cannabis becomes the key issue in upcoming elections, and the obvious dividing line between the reform-minded and punitive-focused law-and-order types.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, is marijuana legal where you live?<\/p>\n The post Pennsylvania City Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Marijuana-policy reform is speeding along in Pennsylvania despite a late start. The crucial swing state, hit hard by the opiate crisis, legalized medical cannabis just two years ago. But state-funded universities are jumping feet-first into cannabis research, showing initiative not seen even on the West Coast\u2019s legalization playground, and reform-mindedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4332,50,94,4333,283,90,285,2068,4334,4335,4336,4337],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26340"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26341,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26340\/revisions\/26341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Pennsylvania City Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"