PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: City Council approved a reasonable moderation of Philadelphia’s approach to marijuana enforcement more than a month ago. But despite the increasingly antic advocacy of the bill’s sponsor, Jim Kenney, Mayor Nutter has greeted the legislation with the sort of lassitude often blamed on heavy use of the drug. It’s time for the administration to muster the motivation to support this more pragmatic and just policy.
A veto-proof Council majority passed a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in June, making it a civil offense punishable by a $25 fine. That would end a police dragnet that puts thousands in custody for the drug each year.
This is a progressive but far from revolutionary step. District Attorney Seth Williams’ office already declines to prosecute most minor marijuana possession cases, making the Police Department’s more than 4,000 arrests a year for the offense that much more excessive. In addition to the 23 states that have legalized marijuana in some form, cities such as Chicago, Washington, and Pittsburgh have largely ended custodial arrests for the drug… (more)
