Pubdate: Tue, 11 Mar 2014
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Troy Graham

COUNCIL CONSIDERS NEW WAY ON MARIJUANA

Kenney's Bill Calls for Ending Arrests for Possession of Small 
Amounts in Most Cases.

After being caught on campus with less than two grams of weed in 
2012, Temple University student Aaron Fleming was arrested and thrown 
in a holding cell for 14 hours.

He eventually paid a $200 fine and enrolled in a court program that, 
a year later, cleared his record, he said.

"What benefit did society gain for punishing someone ... over this?" 
Fleming asked Monday as he testified during a City Council hearing.

With states and municipalities across the country decriminalizing and 
even legalizing marijuana, Philadelphia on Monday moved closer toward 
softening its own stance.

Top police and Nutter administration officials said in the hearing 
that they were open in most instances to ending arrests for 
possession of small amounts of marijuana, a policy change called for 
in legislation sponsored by Councilman James F. Kenney.

He is proposing that offenders caught with less than an ounce of 
weed, like Fleming, should receive a court summons and be let go.

"I don't believe 4,200 people in the city should be arrested every 
year, taking 17,000 police hours off the street, processing marijuana 
arrests," Kenney said. "To me, it makes no sense."

His bill was amended Monday to delineate circumstances where 
offenders could be arrested - including if they cannot prove their 
identities, have warrants pending against them, or have ignored 
previous summonses.

Fleming is white, which made him something of an anomaly. The ACLU's 
studies in recent years have found that more than 83 percent of 
marijuana arrests in the city were of African Americans.

Kenney noted that in the police district covering the largely white 
neighborhoods of Roxborough and Manayunk, only one person has been 
arrested in the last three years on pot charges - and that was a black male.

"You can't tell me that Latinos and white kids aren't smoking reefer, 
too," Kenney said. "They're just not getting stopped and arrested for it."

His bill, which won unanimous support from the Law and Government 
Committee on Monday, is not necessary for police to end custodial 
arrests - the department has that discretion now, Kenney said. But, 
he said, "we need, as a council, to make a comment or put our stamp 
of approval" on the idea.

Francis Healy, a special adviser to Police Commissioner Charles H. 
Ramsey, said the department "supports the basic premise" that 
"custodial arrests should not be required" for pot possession.

Healy said existing rules could be changed, but only if the police, 
the courts, and District Attorney Seth Williams are in agreement.

Williams is embarked in that direction. His office has started a 
diversionary program for offenders caught with small amounts of 
marijuana, a move aimed at clearing 3,000 cases out of the main court system.

Kenney, whose bill could go to a floor vote this month, said he would 
not have called for ending pot arrests if the district attorney had 
not taken that first step.

Williams, in a tepid, two-sentence statement Monday, said he looked 
forward to working with Kenney "to ensure his proposal can be 
implemented in a manner that conforms with existing state law."

Last year, Chicago approved a bill similar to Kenney's, and last week 
the city council in Washington approved a bill that would make 
possession of small amounts of pot a civil offense.

"The trend has been toward legalization," Kenney said. "We've just 
got to be sensible about how we enforce the law and treat our people."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom