Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 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: James F. Kenney
Note: James F. Kenney is a Philadelphia councilman at-large.
Page: A17

SIGN CITY BILL ON POT ARRESTS

There is an everexpanding chorus of serious and legitimate voices in 
government and the media who are calling for the decriminalization - 
if not outright legalization - of marijuana. Twenty-three states and 
a number of cities have already enacted new laws legalizing or 
decriminalizing possession of marijuana.

While stopping short of full legalization, President Obama has said 
this year that he believes marijuana is no more dangerous than 
alcohol, and his administration's 2014 National Drug Control Strategy 
notes that "an enforcement-centric ' war on drugs' approach to drug 
policy is counterproductive, inefficient, and costly."

Last week, the New York Times Editorial Board called for the 
legalization of marijuana, writing, "It has been more than 40 years 
since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great 
harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol."

Over time, societies change and people see things differently. It is 
incumbent upon our leaders in government to adapt to changing 
attitudes and move society along, making adjustments and tweaks to 
our laws that govern how we act as a whole, and how we treat and 
interact with one another.

Such was the case when City Council recently passed my legislation 
that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana, with 
police issuing a citation for a $25 fine, but with no arrest and no 
criminal record for the person being fined.

Aside from the thousands of lives that have been sidetracked - if not 
destroyed - because of criminal arrests for marijuana possession, 
there have been countless hours of valuable police time wasted 
arresting and processing citizens whose only "crime" was possessing a 
substance the New York Times described as "far less dangerous than alcohol."

Last year alone, Philadelphia police spent an estimated 17,000 hours 
making 4,336 marijuana-related arrests - arrests that the District 
Attorney's Office said it would never prosecute.

Those 17,000 police hours spent on marijuana arrests - at least 2,100 
individual eight-hour shifts - were police time that could have been 
better spent fighting violent crime and making our neighborhoods safer.

Since 2008, Philadelphia police have made more than 30,000 arrests 
for simple marijuana possession. More than 82 percent of those 
arrested - 24,755 people - were African American. Those 30,000 
arrests over a sixyear period used up about 180,000 police hours - or 
22,500 individual eight-hour shifts.

According to the Philadelphia Police Department, 16,671 violent 
crimes, including murders, rapes, and robberies, were committed in 2013.

How many of those violent crimes could have been prevented if police 
resources were redirected away from nonviolent marijuana arrests?

How many more violent criminals could have been apprehended and 
brought to justice if two-officer police crews didn't have to waste, 
on average, two to three hours per marijuana arrest?

These arrests would be eliminated if Mayor Nutter signed my 
legislation, which was passed by City Council. Philadelphia could 
then begin to treat this matter as it should - as a public-health 
issue. On this, the mayor and I agree: More must be done to treat and 
prevent drug addiction.

That is why my bill also requires that information on drug-treatment 
programs be given to parents of teenagers who are cited for marijuana 
possession. It also requires that all revenue from the $25 fines go 
to the city's Department of Health - specifically for drug treatment 
and addiction prevention programs.

Change can be difficult. I get that. But failing to make much-needed 
changes to our laws when common sense and justice cry out for change 
is unconscionable.

It's time, Mayor Nutter. As someone who embraced the call for change 
as a cornerstone of his mayoral campaign and his administration, it's 
time to be a part of the change that is so desperately needed.

It's time for Mayor Nutter to sign into law what The Inquirer 
Editorial Board described as "a reasonable moderation of 
Philadelphia's approach to marijuana enforcement."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom