Here are the numbers for 2009, the most recent data available:
There were 6, 402 marijuana related arrests by Philadelphia City Police in 2009. These were stand-alone violations not in conjunction with other crime.
4, 656 were adults arrested for simple possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana.
Of the adults arrested for simple marijuana possession more than 75% were 18-29 years old (3,129) and 91% were men (4,251).
Black women were three times more likely to be arrested than white women, with 300 women taken into custody in 2009 for marijuana possession less than 30 grams.
Overall, black residents were four times more likely to arrested for pot than white residents. For all marijuana violations, African Americans comprised 80% of those arrested in Philadelphia, a total of 5,158 adults.
To put this into perspective there were 10,661 African American residents arrested in all of Pennsylvania for marijuana violations during 2009. Thus, Philadelphia city police are performing about half of the annual statewide arrests of black people for marijuana.
Earlier this year District Attorney Seth Williams created a new diversion court for minor marijuana offenses. Instead of criminal prosecution offenders now pay a $200 fine.
While this alleviated the court burden of marijuana violations it does not address the arrests.
5/9/13 by Chris Goldstein – Advocates working to legalize marijuana are keeping a busy schedule in the Philly area with a series of public events.
On May 7th the NORML Women’s Alliance held a vigil at the historic Betsy Ross House in a memorial tribute to Rachel Hoffman and victims of Prohibition.
After an arrest in Florida for marijuana Hoffman was recruited as a police informant, a role that led to her murder.
NORML Women's Alliance – Rachel Hoffman Memorial (via Ken Wolski)
The group of about two dozen activists, almost all women, solemnly read the names of those who have suffered tragically under prohibition policy including prisoners currently behind bars in America’s war on marijuana consumers.
Vanessa Waltz helped to organize the event; “The mood was very reflective and somber; these were people who were killed in botched police raids or because they felt they had to be police informants,” Waltz added; “I hope everyone realizes that there are people in prison, for life, because of non-violent marijuana offenses.”
On Saturday May 11th PhillyNORML will hold the annual Global Cannabis March on South Street. The long-running event (over a decade) attracts hundreds of participants for a 4:20PM walk from Broad Street to the Front Street pedestrian bridge.
“Cannabis prohibition costs the Commonwealth more than three-hundred million tax-payer dollars every year for about twenty-four thousand arrests,” said Philly NORML Executive Director Kevin Clough.
“This march shows how sick and tired people are of closing schools, building prisons and wasting money on marijuana prohibition.”
Pennsylvania has two pieces of marijuana reform legislation currently active in Harrisburg. The Governor Shafer Compassionate Use Act HB1181/SB770 would allow for seriously ill patients to access a state medical marijuana system. The bill is different than New Jersey’s ineffective law because it also allows for patients and caregivers to cultivate at home.
Informational hearings were held for the medical access bill in the PA House during the 2010 and 2011 sessions but the Public Health Committee never held a vote. It is currently assigned to the same committee chaired by Republican Rep. Matthew Baker, who is an opponent of the measure.
Several polls by Franklin&Marshall put public support for a local cannabis program above 80% (impressive for any issue ) making it one of the most popular policy issues in PA politics.
A separate bill has been introduced to create a taxed and regulated system to sell recreational marijuana to adults. SB 528 is currently assigned to the Senate Law and Justice Committee chaired by Senator Charles McIlhinney, a Republican who has not offered a position on the bill. The same committee is currently (and not without irony) embroiled in the issue of privatizing PA’s state-run liquor stores.
The primary sponsors of both cannabis bills are Mark Cohen in the House and Daylin Leach in the Senate.
Yet the legislation is Harrisburg seems stalled. The respective committees (namely their chairperson) will need to offer the bills for hearings to move them forward. The Republican majority caucus of the PA General Assembly seems unwilling to take a break from their heavy investment into alcohol and consider the benefits of something far safer.
Still, the overwhelming super-majority of Pennsylvanians (in both parties) support some level of change … so the spring of 2013 seems to be the right time for this surge of public participation to have some measurable impact on politicians.
5/26/2011 – State Senator Pat Vance (R-31) chairs the Public Health and Welfare Committee where the medical marijuana bill, SB 1003, has been assigned. And the bill may be staying right there. Senator Vance’s Chief of Staff, Amy Bolze, said that there is currently no intention to scheduling any public hearings. Further, she stated that there is no intention to bring the bill before the committee for a vote.
This leaves SB 1003 in a state of suspended animation, where it could remain for the entire legislative session.
Senator Daylin Leach, the main sponsor of SB 1003, described it as “… a common-sense bill that would simply give sick people access to medication so they feel better.”
When the bill was introduced in April Leach said, ”Countless studies show marijuana can alleviate the side effects of many diseases. It’s time we give Pennsylvanians access to the treatment they need and deserve.”
During those House hearings most of the testimony favored passage of a medical cannabis law. Doctors, religious leaders, medical experts and seriously ill residents made a compelling case for the bill.
Dr. Harry Swidler, an Emergency Medicine physician testified: “Marijuana is non-addicting. There is no physical dependence or physical withdrawal associated with its use. It is, from a practical standpoint, non-toxic. Marijuana is safer by some measures than any other drug. There is simply no known quantity of marijuana capable of killing a person.”
A Franklin & Marshall poll in 2010 indicated that 81 percent of Pennsylvania residents support having legalized access to marijuana for qualifying residents. Over 40 percent of the respondents in that poll described themselves as “conservative.”
There have been no Republican co-sponsors to the medical marijuana bill in either the Senate or the House, despite the notably strong support among voters.
Bolze said that Senator Vance’s office does receive regular communications via phone and email from residents who support the bill. But it seems unlikely that Vance will consider the issue before the Health and Welfare Committee unless her peers in the Senate show more interest.
Representative Mark B. Cohen originally introduced the medical marijuana bill to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Cohen’s office reported today that a co-sponsorship memorandum has been released. The bill is expected to be re-introduced in the House this summer.
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]
7/12/2011 – During an hour-long public radio program Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed said that the Pennsylvania DA’s Association is taking no position on the medical marijuana bill. Freed explained the stance on WITF’s Radio Smart Talk , “I don’t think any prosecutor I know would want to prevent a terminally ill person from alleviating [their] suffering.”
Later in the program Freed reinforced the position, “I don’t think that medical marijuana is necessarily a law enforcement issue. I think that advocates like Chris need to go to the Legislature and what happens there …happens.”
In a rare, comprehensive discussion the Radio Smart Talk program covered medical marijuana, decriminalization and full legalization. Questions from the callers ran the gamut from supporting reform measures to blaming the Greek economic crisis on weed.
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]
Many of you have followed Patricia’s Spottedcrow’s story here and on other sites. Perhaps because her story so aptly personifies a flawed system: a working mother with no prior convictions is sentenced to 12 years for selling $31 of marijuana. In potentially better news, Patricia has a hearing for a sentence modification set for Oct. 6, 2011. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed. Or better yet, send her a letter of support and show you care.
Patricia M. Spottedcrow, 26, received a 12-year prison sentence last October for selling a total of $31 in marijuana to a police informant in December 2009 and January 2010. Her mother, Delita Starr, 51, was also charged.
In blind guilty pleas before a judge, Spottedcrow received prison time, and her mother received a 30-year suspended sentence. Neither had prior criminal convictions.
Oklahoma City attorney Josh Welch said he has requested Spottedcrow be present to speak directly to the judge.
“Patricia wants to let the judge know what she has learned and been through,” Welch said. “She wants him to know she’s remorseful, accepts responsibility and it will not happen again. She doesn’t want a free pass or makes excuses for her conduct.
“With all things said, we disagree with the 12-year sentence, with it being excessive for this case.”
Spottedcrow was featured in a Tulsa World article on Feb. 20, published in media across the state through the nonprofit journalism group Oklahoma Watch.
The judge, who is now retired, said in a previous interview that Spottedcrow’s decade-long sentence was imposed because her four young children were in the home at the time of the drug buys. She said first-time offenders usually do not go to prison and alternatives including treatment are typically sought.
When Spottedcrow was booked into the jail after sentencing, some marijuana was found in a jacket she was wearing. She pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge and was given a two-year sentence to run concurrent with her other sentence.
The judge said she gave Starr a suspended sentence so she could care for Spottedcrow’s children, who are now 10, 5, 3 and 2.
In the filing, Starr reportedly earns about $800 a month from her job at a truck stop earning $8 an hour. Expenses for the children are a minimum of $500 for food, clothes, diapers and medicine, and $500 for utilities, water and home maintenance. She cannot drive because her license was revoked in her sentencing.
In another stomach-turning example of judicial injustice and marijuana-related arrests, Patricia Smith’s recent appeal has been denied. This New Hampshire-based nurse with no criminal background will do time for growing marijuana in her own home, in addition to paying over $35,000 in fines. Please forward this story. Patricia Smith hasn’t gotten the same media coverage as Patricia Spottedcrow and others, though is a victim in this never-ending “war on drugs” nonetheless.
New Hampshire’s highest court has upheld a woman’s marijuana-growing conviction, ruling she had no reasonable expectation to privacy in a wooded area of her property from which police observed her house and detected the smell of marijuana coming from a vent.
Patricia Smith of Haverhill was charged in 2009 after police raided her house and found a pot-growing operation and 120 plants. During court proceedings, a superior court denied Smith’s motion to suppress evidence.
In appealing to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Smith’s attorney argued that police violated Smith’s constitutional right to privacy and protection from unreasonable searches when they essentially conducted a stakeout in the woods behind her home.
Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.
Patricia Smith’s appeal was denied several months ago. This New Hampshire-based nurse with no criminal background is currently serving the next 2 – 4 years in the New Hampshire Department of Corrections for growing marijuana in her own home. Financially she was nailed too, paying over $35,000 in fines.
Letters to inmates help considerably with morale, self-esteem and connectivity to the “outside world.” And it only takes a few minutes.
In general, it’s best not to go on endlessly about the injustice surrounding her case (she gets it, trust me), but instead write about yourself, incidents in your life, interests, etc. Think of writing to a pen pal in a really crappy situation. Keep it informal, supportive and friendly.
Please write to hospice nurse and MMJ patient Patricia Smith who was sent the NH State Prison for growing medicine. She is serving 2-4 years. Please send her a letter of encouragement and solidarity today. Patricia Smith, Inmate #90724, NHSP/W 317 Mast Rd, Goffstown, NH 03045. If you wish to send her books or magazine subscriptions, they must be sent directly from recognized mail order companies or publishers. The receipt must be included within the packaging or it will be returned to the sender. Let’s support our struggling but brave sister.
More on Patricia Smith’s story:
Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.
6/28/2011 – The concurrent medical marijuana bills in Massachusetts had a public hearing today before the Committee on Public Health. Medical professionals and potentially qualifying patients outlined the strong case for legal accesss.
“…injuries from multiple car accidents left me with broken bones and nerve damage, I suffer from chronic pain that I will have for the rest of my life, including unpredictable debilitating pains on the entire left side of my body.” said Richard Merrill from Fitchburg. “The opiates I was prescribed made me vomit, caused sleeplessness, and put me into a long term depression. With the help of medical marijuana I’ve been able to get off the opiates and put my life back together again.”
Dr. Karen Munkacy MD, a specialist in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, testified in favor of medical cannabis at the hearings. “It’s much safer than Oxycontin and even safer than many over the counter pain relievers.” said Dr. Munkacy. “I once treated a patient with a Tylenol overdose. That doesn’t happen with medical cannabis.”
The bills, H.625 and S.1161 would allow doctors to recommend cannabis and regulate up to nineteen “Medical Treatment Centers” for dispensing marijuana across the state. Massachusetts decriminalized adult possession of cannabis (for all uses) by a ballot measure in 2008. But doctors are still not allowed to address the issue with seriously ill residents in a fully legal manner.
The Associated Press covered the committee hearing today in-depth:
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]
A supporter protests for medical marijuana in Philadelphia
Because of the two-year cycle of the Pennsylvania General Assembly the medical marijuana bills are expected to be re-introduced soon. Advocates and legislators are also talking about some interesting changes.PA saw medical marijuana legislation introduced for the first time in 2009 by Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia. In 2010 Senator Daylin Leach introduced the concurrent bill in upper chamber.The PA House Health and Human Services Committee held two important public hearings in Harrisburg and in Pittsburgh. Patients, physicians, advocates, religious leaders and even former law enforcement officers testified in favor of medical marijuana.This week the Board of Directors at the non-profit advocacy group Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ) held a conference call with Rep. Cohen to look at the effort for 2011.During the call Rep. Cohen emphasized his commitment to re-introducing the bill this year and the group also discussed some alterations to the language.Cohen continues to be a strong champion for the issue in PA, commenting on his Facebook page today:
“Changes in the bill will include naming the act after former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer, a leading critic of federal drug policies…”
Shafer, a Republican, was appointed by President Nixon to oversee a blue-ribbon commission to study marijuana. In 1972 the panel of experts concluded that personal marijuana use and possession should not be criminal. They also found that marijuana did not belong in Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act. *President Nixon ignored his own commission’s recommendation. Marijuana has remained in Schedule I since 1970. Each state has a drug scheduling system to match the federal code. Two states, Iowa and Oregon, have moved marijuana to Schedule II.There are also suggestions that provisions to re-schedule marijuana, at the state level, be included into the Pennsylvania medical cannabis legislation.A major shift for the issue in PA is the change in Governor. Ed Rendell would have likely signed a medical marijuana bill if it passed. But the newly elected Tom Corbett (the former state Attorney General) has voiced opposition to the issue.When Frankin&Marshall University conducted the most recent polling on the topic last year that showed a whopping 80% of state residents support the medical marijuana bill.It took over five years to pass legislation in New Jersey. Patients and advocates are striving for a less protracted fight in the Keystone State.Further updates on the status of medical marijuana in PA are expected soon – more info at www.pa4mmj.orgRep. Cohen’s medical marijuana page – http://www.pahouse.com/Cohen/med_marijuana_info.asp*Schedule I drugsunder the Controlled Substances Act for the United States. Required findings for drugs to be placed in this schedule:– The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.– The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.– There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
6/23/2011 – The medical cannabis bill in Pennsylvania has been stalled in House and Senate committees but some procedural wrangling this week could put the issue back in motion. HB 1653 was first assigned to the House Health Committee chaired by Rep. Matthew Baker. At previous public hearings Baker was a vocal opponent of the measure. Today the bill was re-referred to the House Human Services Committee. This means much better chances that public hearings and/or a committee vote will be be scheduled.
This year the PA bill was also re-named The Governor Raymond P. Shafer Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This is to honor the former Republican governor who guided a commission for President Nixon on the topic of marijuana. In 1972 Shafer delivered a report that cannabis should not be classified with other narcotics and that personal possession should be decriminalized. There were also clear considerations about the medical use of cannabis in the report.
Previously the PA House Health and Human Services Commitee was combined and had 26 members. This year the committee was split into two separate entities.
At public hearings held in 2009 and 2010 testimony strongly favored the medical marijuana bill. Seriously ill residents, religious leaders, advocates, doctors and nurses spoke about the benefits of cannabis but the the bill never got a vote.
Patrick Nightingale, a Pittsburgh based attorney who serves on the Board of Directors at Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ), said today, ”Critically ill patients throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are begging merely that their voice be heard by their elected representatives.”
“The answer is not to ignore or bury the legislation but rather to give it a full and fair hearing,” Nightingale added.
Dr. Harry Swidler, an Emergency Medicine physician said at the 2009 hearings: “Marijuana is non-addicting. There is no physical dependence or physical withdrawal associated with its use. It is, from a practical standpoint, non-toxic. Marijuana is safer by some measures than any other drug. There is simply no known quantity of marijuana capable of killing a person.”
Derek Rosenzweig of Philadelphia spearheaded the PA4MMJ effort and testified at previous public hearings. He said in an email today: “With the introduction of legislation in the US Congress today that would remove marijuana from the federal Schedule I classification, states such as Pennsylvania may soon be free of federal interference in implementing medical marijuana laws. Activists across the state have been pushing for a vote. Everyone at PA4MMJ has been making phone calls and sending emails.”
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]
