Pubdate: Sun, 20 Mar 2016 Source: Citizens' Voice, The (Wilkes-Barre, PA) Copyright: 2016 The Citizens' Voice Contact: http://www.citizensvoice.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1334 Author: Jacob Seibel DECRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA GAINING SUPPORT AMONG W-B CITY OFFICIALS Proponents Say Potential Ordinance Would Refocus Police Resources WILKES-BARRE - Passage of an ordinance downgrading the offense of possession of drug paraphernalia has sparked serious discussion among city officials - on marijuana decriminalization. Marijuana decriminalization in Wilkes-Barre is largely supported among top city officials and legislators, with only one of five city council members on the "definitely not" end of the scale. Proponents say decriminalizing possession of small amounts would help refocus police resources on fighting violent and serious drug crimes, alleviate pressure on the state court system and prevent creating or worsening criminal records for low-level offenders. "I think marijuana is a lesser evil than alcohol, and alcohol is legal," Mayor Tony George said. "If somebody made alcohol today a drug, it would be a Schedule I." A great deal of governmental cooperation is needed to implement and enforce decriminalization ordinances, which generally consider a small amount of marijuana to be under 30 grams, enough to roll a handful of joints. As former city police chief, George said he sees the value in such an ordinance for Wilkes-Barre, particularly for protecting youth from acquiring damaging criminal records and for putting the city's police budget of $11.8 million to better use. While George said he wouldn't stand in the way of enforcement, he wants to leave the responsibility of enacting the ordinance solely with council. Council would need a majority vote to pass the ordinance and the city police department has to be willing to implement it. Mike Belusko is the lone council member against marijuana decriminalization - not because he believes marijuana is a dangerous drug, but because it is still an illegal drug. "Any amount of marijuana would definitely not be acceptable in my eyes," he said, "and I would not vote for an ordinance that has that in there - because I believe any amount is enough to be considered either a misdemeanor or a felony." Marijuana is in a category with the most dangerous drugs. The category includes substances that the federal government defines as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse and dependence - higher potential than oxycodone, methamphetamine and crack and powder cocaine. In the past two decades, Luzerne County has become inundated with violence and overdoses from opiates and other hard drugs, not pot. For that reason, arresting people for a few grams of weed "just doesn't seem logical at this point," said Wilkes-Barre City Councilwoman Beth Gilbert. "We need to step out of our comfort zone. We need to look at how other cities are progressing, and this is one way that cities have been progressing, decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana," she said. "There is an old-school mentality here and I think, as elected officials, we need to look beyond that." Police Chief Marcella Lendacky said she pitched the paraphernalia ordinance idea to the mayor as a way to boost city coffers with money collected through citations and savings from no longer prosecuting misdemeanor offenses. Fines for misdemeanor and felony crimes go largely to the state, whereas fines for summary citations go to the city. Council on March 10 unanimously passed the paraphernalia ordinance, which is modeled after Hazleton's 1998 law, downgrading possession from a misdemeanor to a summary offense at the discretion of the arresting officer. Lendacky said she had never considered marijuana decriminalization until a council meeting last month when a resident presented Philadelphia's bill for possessing and smoking small amounts of marijuana and urged the city to pass a similar law he idea caught her attention and was something she wanted the city to review. Council Chairman Bill Barrett said he asked John Curham, commander of operations for the police department, to touch base with other top officers to see where the overall department stood. Ultimately, officers have the discretion to enforce decriminalization laws. Factors that police consider include the criminal background of an offender and whether the person is going to be facing more serious charges. In the days after the paraphernalia ordinance was publicized in the media, the chief's initial support was waning because of negative online feedback on decriminalization. She said she was wondering whether the public perception of Wilkes-Barre would be, "So what are they going to allow next?" "I don't know if we're ready for it," she said. "Are we ready to say that so much of this is OK? I don't know if our area is ready for that." Chris Goldstein, former cochair of marijuana law reform group Philly NORML, said some people had worried that decriminalization in Philadelphia was going to flood the streets with people smoking pot. "That hasn't been the case," he said. Right now, Goldstein said, law enforcement has two choices: arrest people or let them go. While the idea of police letting offenders go isn't unheard of, the ordinance gives real discretion, he said. "Rather than taking power away from a police officer," he said. "A 'decrim' ordinance gives power to the officer, to be able to deal with a situation in a way that doesn't permanently affect an individual with a permanent record." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom