“People carrying less than one ounce of weed make up 45 percent of all substance possession arrests in Pennsylvania. That amount would be perfectly legal in most surrounding states.”
By Chris Goldstein, NORML
Politicians in Pennsylvania’s Capitol are having a very slow dance with Mary Jane. It’s taking decades to debate the well proven concept of legalizing and regulating recreational cannabis even as some lawmakers say the reform is “inevitable.”
Neighboring states—Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Maryland—now surround the Pennsylvania’s island of prohibition. Justice is being left behind in the excruciating delay.
While everyone waits for reform, 32 people per day are still being arrested every day in Pennsylvania for weed. Every single arrest is someone having their life needlessly upended over a plant.
Massive budget savings are also being completely overlooked. Taxpayers in Pennsylvania likely spent more than $1 billion to maintain criminal cannabis prohibition in the last decade alone.
The vast majority of enforcement doesn’t target foreign cartels or serious kingpins. All that money results in tens of thousands of local arrests across the state for low-level possession. That’s according to more than a decade of data I reviewed from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system.
People carrying less than one ounce of weed make up 45 percent of all substance possession arrests in Pennsylvania. That amount would be perfectly legal in most surrounding states.
There were 189,504 adults arrested in Pennsylvania between 2013 and 2023 just for having a few grams of cannabis.
During the same period, far fewer people were arrested in the state for decidedly more dangerous substances.
For example, there were 106,353 adults arrested in the category that includes heroin, opiates and cocaine.
An important note about the UCR data: None of the people was committing any more serious concurrent crimes. That means nobody in the substance possession totals had an illegal gun, and none were involved with a DUI.
Half the so-called “drug war” in Pennsylvania is being waged against cannabis consumers. Even before the taxes and profits of full legalization are realized, stopping possession arrests alone could help balance budgets.
Many states decided to stop arresting consumers years before regulated products were sold. It’s a move that saves huge amounts of time and money across our entire system.
In 2014 the Philadelphia City Council passed a landmark cannabis decriminalization ordinance. Under the change, police are allowed to issue civil citations in lieu of handcuffs.
Weed arrests declined in the city by more than 72 percent within a year of implementation, and they never rose again. Millions have been saved and redirected in Philly budgets with the shift.
Marijuana-related treatment admissions in Philly also declined by nearly 80 percent after decriminalization. It turned out that most resulted from court-related referrals. Those vital treatment resources instead were quickly utilized for alcohol and opiates.
Over the years Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, State College, Erie and more than 85 other cities have also downgraded marijuana penalties in some form. Statewide, however, people getting caught with just a few grams of cannabis remain nearly equal to arrests for all other substances combined.
Areas in Pennsylvania without a local downgrade ordinance actually became more dangerous for cannabis consumers.
Dave Sunday served as the district attorney for York County when there seemed to be a focus on weed. Now he’s the state’s attorney general.
Sunday’s tenure between 2019 and 2023 saw more than twice as many people arrested in York County for marijuana possession (5,658) than for all other substances combined (2,649).
Sunday testified as an invited guest in recent years before several hearings about full cannabis legalization in Harrisburg. He’s not a fan of reform, and it shows in his record.
Under his direction, more than 70 percent of juveniles caught with small amounts of cannabis in York County were sent to criminal courts. Ordering probation or supervision over weed actually costs taxpayers even more.
Dozens of states have ceased these tragic wastes of resources. For example, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Ohio and Maryland have completely stopped low-level weed arrests of people of all ages.
Those neighboring states also now regulate marijuana sales to adults 21 and older.
Ending the racial bias in enforcement is a major force behind reforming these laws. Compared to most other crimes, cannabis prohibition is most harshly policed in communities of color.
A 2022 report from the Pennsylvania Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup found that despite the local decriminalization ordinances, enforcement disparities remain.
State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup
It may seem like the Keystone State is late to an inevitable THC party. But there’s already $150 million in legal weed being sold in Pennsylvania every month. Every gram is fully approved by the state government, specifically the Department of Health.
Nearly 500,000 residents are currently registered in the state’s medical cannabis program, and sales are steadily growing. Pennsylvania has been quietly operating a robust industry for years.
Large, multi-state medical cannabis corporations own most of the operating permits. Legislators and well paid lobbyists have worked together every session to pass laws that assist the industry.
The bills contained everything from relaxing product safety testing to granting generous tax breaks. And they enjoyed swift, bipartisan passage. Everyone’s at it.
From small-business equity to state-run stores, Democrats and Republicans have offered a dizzying array of different plans for the future. Ignoring the glaring problem and massive costs of ongoing prohibition enforcement won’t get us to the goal.
Police data can’t tell us the numbers of Republicans or Democrats who are arrested for marijuana. My experience tells me it’s about equal.
The first step towards a regulated cannabis market should be to stop arresting consumers.
Chris Goldstein is a writer based in New Jersey. For the last 25 years, he’s been a cannabis consumer activist. Today, he’s a volunteer regional organizer for NORML in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Chris helped write Philadelphia’s landmark 2014 ordinance decriminalizing cannabis, and in 2024 he received a presidential pardon certificate for federal marijuana possession.
Marijuana Consumers Are Under Attack In Multiple States, And It’s Time To Fight Back (Op-Ed)
The post Pennsylvania Taxpayers Spend Billions On Marijuana Criminalization While Neighboring States Reap Benefits Of Legalization (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.
