Pittsburgh City may decriminalize Marijuana
Posted by Sagar Satapathy on November 17, 2015.

The bill is being introduced by Councilman Daniel Lavelle, of District 6, which includes Downtown, Uptown, the Northside, Oakland, The Hill District and Perry Hilltop. Currently, the marijuana possession or smoking (even a small amount), warrants prosecution under criminal law and destroys the life and career of many people. The activists have been working hard to decriminalize marijuana with a minor penalty at least within the city, if not outside.
It is believed that the new bill would help many youths, who use marijuana and end up landing in a revolving criminal justice system. They can heave a sigh of relief, as they won't face the harsh consequences of minor marijuana offenses. "The bill will help break the damning lifelong consequences of unemployment, lack of education and being caught in a revolving criminal justice system, all due to a minor marijuana offense," said the press release by City Councilman Daniel Lavell.
Similar legislation in Philadelphia drastically cut marijuana possession arrests," said Patrick Nightingale, a local criminal defense lawyer and executive director of the Pittsburgh chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He argued that it gave police the option of writing a ticket but still retaining the power to file misdemeanor charges if situation warrants so. comments powered by Disqus