4/20/2013 in Philadelphia
Philadelphia – The country is going green and celebrating 4/20, America’s Marijuana Holiday. While tens of thousands are expected to light up without fear of prosecution in Colorado such freedom has yet to reach the Keystone State. Yet progress is on the horizon.
Pennsylvania now has three active marijuana reform bills, more than any other point in the Commonwealth’s history. The Philadelphia City Council is also moving to decriminalize cannabis.
Medical Access
The Governor Raymond P. Shafer Compassionate Use of Marijuana Act (SB1182), introduced by Senator Mike Folmer (R-48), is a medicinal cannabis access bill is named after the two-term Republican Governor who unsuccessfully tried to convince President Nixon to leave marijuana out of the Controlled Substances Act in 1972.
SB1182 was heard by the PA Senate Law and Justice Committee in January. Testimony was given by PhillyNORML, The Pennsylvanian Nurses Association, the ACLU PA and dozens of parents with severely ill children who could benefit from cannabis therapy. Legislative Journal entry on hearing here
Rep. Mark Cohen (D-202) has introduced a companion bill in the PA House. Cohen first introduced medical marijuana legislation in 2009. More about the bill here
“Marijuana is medicine, and its placement in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is wrong,” said PhillyNORML Advisory Board member Derek Rosenzweig who testified at the Senate committee hearing.
“Twenty states and Washington DC have passed laws recognizing medical cannabis. Maryland is about to implement a newer, better medical cannabis program. The Pennsylvania Senate has enough votes to pass our SB1182 bill, and the House is poised to take up the issue soon after.”
Tax Consumers, Don’t Arrest Them
The Regulate Marijuana Act, SB528, was introduced by Senator Daylin Leach (D-17). The bill would allow adults 21 years of age and older to purchase marijuana in the state-operated alcohol stores already operating in the Commonwealth.
The concept would bring a somewhat stricter version of the laws already running in Colorado and Washington and could bring in over $5million per month in tax revenue and eliminate more than 21,000 annual possession arrests. Read the bill here
Representative Jake Wheatley (D-19) has also introduced a non-binding ballot referendum (HB2137) that could put the question of full marijuana legalization directly to voters. Polls by Quinnipiac and Franklin& Marshall are showing a steadily rising trend in voter support for legal cannabis in Pennsylvania. Support the ballot effort here
City Decriminalization
Philadelphia City Councilman Jim Kenney introduced a bill in January 2014 to stop mandatory custodial arrests for small amounts of marijuana.
The City Council’s Law and Government Committee passed the measure with a unanimous vote on March 20, 2014 after testimony by PhillyNORML, TempleSSDP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and ACLU-PA.
Kenney’s bill is currently under review by the Common Pleas Court and it is expected to see a full council vote later this year.
Philadelphia arrests more than 4,000 people every year for small amounts of marijuana and requires every single offender to be put into a holding cell; a policy that is not replicated anywhere else in the Commonwealth.
PhillyNORML and the ACLU have also discovered a disturbing racial disparity to the arrests. Although black and white residents consume cannabis at equal rates more than 3,000 of the arrests are people of color. Read PhillyNORML arrest report
If enacted the decrim policy could save the city more than $4million dollars each year. The change from handcuffs and holding cells to summary tickets has the cautious support of the Philadelphia Police and the District Attorney.
The Washington DC City Council recently decriminalized marijuana in the nation’s capital making simple possession a $25 fine.
Pennsylvania Governor’s Race
As the election season heats up every Democrat running for Pennsylvania Governor has expressed strong support for medical marijuana access and also statewide decriminalization. Candidates like Congresswoman Alyson Schwartz have even charged their previous position to support reform efforts. The overwhelming democratic political support can be credited to the extraordinary effort of John Hanger’s campaign.
Hanger was endorsed by the National NORML PAC and spoke at a PhillyNORML Smoke Down Prohibition rally last year but has since withdrawn from the race. Read more about Gov’s race and marijuana here
420 in Philly
Last year on 4/20/13 Smoke Down Prohibition, a protest and awareness rally, took place at Independence Hall National Historic Park supported by PhillyNORML and local comedy activism crew The Panic Hour.
The event featured speeches from local activists and a “moment of cannabis reflection” at 4:20PM. More than 500 people participated and there were no arrests or citations.
SDP was a monthly event but in May 2013 a heavy police presence began to interfere with the gathering. Over the next seven months more than two dozen people were issued $175 fines for committing civil disobedience.
Comedian and now Philadelphia City Council candidate NA Poe was detained in the Federal Detention Center on May 18, 2013 and eventually received one year of probation and an $880 fine.
PhillyNORML Co-Chair and NJ Veterans for Medical Marijuana activist Donald Dezarn were prosecuted in federal court after receiving citations for possession of a controlled substance in August 2013. Both had less than a gram of marijuana.
After a trial in Federal Magistrate Court, Judge Jacob Hart sentenced the pair in March 2014: Two years of supervised probation and a $3,000 fine each were levied against both Goldstein and Dezarn. They have launched an appeal of the unusually heavy sentence. More info and fine donations
Yet in a January 2014 interview with CNN President Barack Obama seemed to have taken the main themes of the local SDP rally to heart: 1) That marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol 2) There is a disturbing racial disparity to possession arrests 3) That Congress needs to act on changing federal cannabis laws.
President Obama also said that federal resources should not be utilized to “police people smoking a joint on the corner.” Read full interview at CNN
The SDP gatherings took place on federal property at the corner of 5th and Market Streets in space preserved for First Amendment activity known as The People’s Plaza.
“If we had been on city property we would have likely entered into the local Small Amount of Marijuana program, paid a $200 fine with no probation or permanent record,” said Chris Goldstein,” United States federal policy for marijuana possession is far too harsh and out of step with the rest of the country. That was why we brought our protest to the historic heart of American Liberty.”
PhillyNORML traveled to Washington DC last summer to meet with members of Congress and continues to work with federal legislators on national reform. This is in concert with local efforts to change the law and ultimately end marijuana prohibition so that all Americans can enjoy freedom.
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