Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Councilman James Kenney announced an agreement on Monday to approve a stalled effort to decriminalize personal use of marijuana.
Nutter had until the end of this week to respond to the bill, which had a veto-proof majority in the Council.
“(Personal-use possession) now becomes a civil penalty, with a $25 fine for possession and $100 for public consumption, which can be worked off with nine or 10 hours of community service,” Kenney said. “And now, (the offenders) won’t be arrested or locked up or even transported. The only way they get transported is if they do not have identification and the police need to certify who that person is.
“This will make it easier for young people (who have been caught smoking marijuana) to go after a job, get assistance for college or to go into the military,” Kenney added. “This takes away some of the obstacles and allows them to be productive members of society, even after making a youthful mistake.”
A request for comment from the mayor on Monday was not immediately answered.
Kenney said the bill will now return to the council, where it will be amended, voted on and passed in rapid succession; Kenney expects Nutter to sign Bill No. 140377 on or near October 20.
“We understand there’s a need to do some technical things to the bill,” Kenney said. “We will be amending it on the (council) floor, give it final passage next week and expect it to be signed immediately, within 30 days (after final passage).
“October 20 is the agreed upon date; we are way ahead of where we thought we would be.”
Nutter’s apparent willingness to compromise on the issue is a stark u-turn from his position earlier this summer. The mayor has questioned the bill, and its implications for the criminal justice system are currently under review.
The language of the bill appears to address the health and societal aspects of concerns raised by critics.
“Non-violent drug and alcohol abuse is proven to cause long-term health risks and should be dealt with as a public health issue, not as a criminal issue. Using criminal means for (small amount of non-medical marijuana) violations does nothing to deter drug and alcohol abuse but does increase the number of people with life-changing criminal records, while incidents with criminal means only (burden) taxpayers and (damage) an individual’s chances for prosperity in the process,” read a portion of the bill, which Council passed in June. “There are issues related to the enforcement of the marijuana possession laws that impact Philadelphia County differently than other counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including but not limited to the critical need in Philadelphia to deploy law enforcement in the investigation of violent criminal offenses, and serious concerns related to the racially disparate treatment of those found in possession of small amounts of marijuana.” ...
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Source: Philadelphia Tribune
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