Philadelphia Mayor Says it’s Time to Legalize Cannabis

On April 23, 22 people were arrested at a cannabis celebration in Philadelphia. On April 24, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced that he believes it’s time to legalize cannabis already, calling the incident “overkill.” Time, energy and money are wasted on cannabis prohibition, especially in states that have legalized medical cannabis and are poised to move forward with legalization.

The Philly Smoke Session was organized on social media and held in a warehouse in Frankford, Pennsylvania. By the time the raid was over, three men and 19 women were arrested and police confiscated over 50 bags of cannabis and edibles from attendees. About 175 others left the party without charges. Later it was revealed that police had been planning the raid for two months.

“The real solution is to legalize it in the state of Pennsylvania as they did in Colorado and we won’t have to use police resources in these kinds of activities,” Kenney told local reporters. Gov. Tom Wolf disagrees, saying recently that Pennsylvania is simply not ready for legalization. Kenney said he was not aware of the planned investigation and raid. “I don’t micromanage the police department and they don’t tell us what they were doing,” the mayor added.

Philadelphia may have decriminalized small amounts of cannabis beginning on October 20, 2014, yet the arrests still continue. Cannabis arrests dropped 77 percent after the first year of decriminalization, but obviously, the plant is not yet legal. Currently, those who are caught with personal amounts of cannabis are subject to a $100 ticket and citation.

Pennsylvania State Sen. Daylin Leach, who co-sponsored a medical cannabis bill, said that he is in favor of legalizing cannabis in Pennsylvania. In the past, Leach has introduced legislation to legalize cannabis on the Senate three different times. Sen. Mike Folmer has admitted to using medical cannabis to cope with chemotherapy for his battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These Senator’s enthusiasm is now supported by Mayor Kenney, which will continue to help advocacy for cannabis in Pennsylvania grow.