Captain Obvious
05-20-2015, 11:03 AM
In other news, police related deaths in Philadelphia triple in the past 2 weeks.
http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/19/this-city-quickly-saved-1-million-dollars-after-decriminalizing-marijuana/
Last year, Philadelphia decided to decriminalize marijuana, dropping the consequences to a simple fine for possession. That decision appears to have saved the city $1 million dollars over a very short period of time.
On October 20, 2014, legislation signed by Mayor Michael Nutter officially came into effect, making marijuana a civil violation.
Nutter stated that while he does not condone marijuana (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/10/02/philadelphia-decriminalizes-marijuana/) because of its status as a Schedule 1 drug, the punishment must be “proportionate to the crime.”
Councilman Jim Kenney, the sponsor of the bill, justified decriminalization through an appeal to reduced burdens on local enforcement, since it redirects police away (http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/Relaxed-Marijuana-Law-in-Effect-in-Philly-Monday-279703742.html) from cracking down on non-violent crimes and towards more serious problems in the community.
For possession under an ounce of marijuana, the fine ranges between $25 and $100 dollars. The other alternative is nine hours of community service.
In an op-ed for Philly.com, Chris Goldstein, co-chair of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, noted that the number of arrests has plummeted (http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/philly420/Philly420_Racial_disparities_persist_in_Phila_mari juana_arrests_.html?fhfhf) by 70 percent when looking at the period of January to March for 2013, 2014 and 2015.
http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/19/this-city-quickly-saved-1-million-dollars-after-decriminalizing-marijuana/
Last year, Philadelphia decided to decriminalize marijuana, dropping the consequences to a simple fine for possession. That decision appears to have saved the city $1 million dollars over a very short period of time.
On October 20, 2014, legislation signed by Mayor Michael Nutter officially came into effect, making marijuana a civil violation.
Nutter stated that while he does not condone marijuana (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/10/02/philadelphia-decriminalizes-marijuana/) because of its status as a Schedule 1 drug, the punishment must be “proportionate to the crime.”
Councilman Jim Kenney, the sponsor of the bill, justified decriminalization through an appeal to reduced burdens on local enforcement, since it redirects police away (http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/Relaxed-Marijuana-Law-in-Effect-in-Philly-Monday-279703742.html) from cracking down on non-violent crimes and towards more serious problems in the community.
For possession under an ounce of marijuana, the fine ranges between $25 and $100 dollars. The other alternative is nine hours of community service.
In an op-ed for Philly.com, Chris Goldstein, co-chair of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, noted that the number of arrests has plummeted (http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/philly420/Philly420_Racial_disparities_persist_in_Phila_mari juana_arrests_.html?fhfhf) by 70 percent when looking at the period of January to March for 2013, 2014 and 2015.