PA Compassionate Caregivers

Merry Christmas

Police can no longer search cars without a warrant unless there is both probable cause to believe a crime occurred and emergency circumstances that require immediate action, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in an opinion published Tuesday. That’s a reversal for the court, which in a 2014 opinion in the case Commonwealth v. Gary had cleared the way for warrantless searches. The ruling will likely require the Philadelphia Police Department and others across the state to rew...rite their policies on vehicle searches. Philadelphia’s current directive permits warrantless searches whenever police have reason to believe contraband is present. Last year, an Inquirer analysis found that Philadelphia police were searching more than 2,000 people a month, on average, based on that policy. About 80% of those searches involved Black drivers but police found such contraband as guns or drugs in their cars only 12% of the time. Philly police also stopped more than 25,000 drivers in five years based on an alleged odor of marijuana, though often those searches turned up no drugs at all. After an Inquirer report on the practice last fall, the number of such stops plummeted. In 2016, police stopped Keith Alexander, who conceded that he had just smoked a blunt. He promptly handed over the bag of marijuana. The officers arrested him and used a key on his keychain to open a locked metal box they found behind the driver’s seat. It contained 10 bundles of heroin enough to charge Alexander with drug dealing. Alexander’s lawyers asked to suppress that evidence, but a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge found that it was perfectly acceptable under Gary, to search the vehicle. https://www.inquirer.com//pennsylvania-supreme-court-polic

"HAZLETON, LUZERNE CO. (WOLF) A new medical marijuana dispensary will be opening in Hazleton. Ethos Cannabis is opening the dispensary on Woodbine Street. The Hazleton location represents the company's 6th dispensary in Pennsylvania.... The new facility will employ 14 starting out-- who will serve patients with 24 qualifying conditions defined in Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act. In addition to their flagship in Philadelphia, Ethos operates dispensaries across the state including one in Wilkes-Barre which opened in October." https://fox56.com//new-medical-marijuana-dispensary-to-ope

As of late last week, the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program has operationalized its 100th dispensary, PharmaCann Penn, LLC (Verilife) in Chester. Read more: https://bit.ly/3nkVyLH

"In Delaware County, it will now cost you $50 if you’re caught in possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, writes Max Bennett for patch.com. Delaware County Council unanimously voted Nov. 4 for ordinance 2020-8, which decriminalizes possession of a small amount of marijuana and turns it into a health code violation. Buying and smoking marijuana in public are also civil offenses subject to a fine.... A judge can suspend the fine if the violator agrees to rehabilitative disposition, similar to a first-time DUI offender, or an adjudication alternative. Minors caught will receive a notice of violation and be detained until parents or guardians are notified. "The ordinance is exempt if marijuana possession occurs on school grounds or a public library. Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer said the new ordinance better allocates strained resources, is supported by the county’s law enforcement and has been copied by other political bodies. We’re not really going off the rails here, she said. It’s pretty normalized. Madden said the criminal nature of marijuana possession can ruin lives. It doubles down on the negative impacts of the substance itself by harming the prospects of employment and their education. https://delco.today//its-now-just-a-50-health-code-fine-t/

"CARLISLE, Pa. UPDATE: Carlisle Borough Council voted Thursday night in favor of a proposal that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. People with under 30 grams of marijuana would be given a summary offense, similar to a traffic ticket, instead of a misdemeanor.... Council members said the proposed policy change will help address the racial disparity in the enforcement of marijuana laws. People of color are eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite usage being the same rate as other groups. Officials also said the change more appropriately punishes the crime. The ordinance is a pilot program. Borough council members said the police department will provide monthly reports and any recommendations to improve the program." https://www.wgal.com//carlisle-borough-council-ma/34931603

New Jersey is another step closer to launching a marijuana industry, as a key lawmaker introduced a bill Friday that outlines how the potential multi-billion-dollar market will operate. Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, introduced the legislation (S21/A21) late Friday evening. It largely pulls from the bill he sponsored last year to legalize marijuana. Lawmakers dropped the initial effort in late 2019 after failing multiple times to muster enough support to pass it. Instead, th...ey punted the issue to the voters in a referendum. That passed overwhelming, with two-thirds of voters saying yes on Tuesday. The bill is scheduled for hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee on Monday. Lawmakers hope to have it pass both the full Senate and Assembly by Nov. 16. The new, 206-page bill includes a lot of hyper-technical changes, but one substantive change, Scutari said. The medicinal marijuana license holders would be allowed to open two more cultivation sites, "to grow more and grow faster and get the adult market up and running, even modestly, he said. https://www.nj.com//top-lawmaker-introduces-bill-to-launch

Congratulations President Elect Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris!! Way to go PA

Cannabis for the Win!!! If there was a clear winner that emerged from the highly contentious 2020 November 3rd election, it was marijuana. Yesterday, all five states that had cannabis legalization measures on their ballots, passed overwhelmingly. Breaking it down, Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota legalized adult-use, with the latter also approving a medical initiative. Mississippi voters also jumped into the fray by supporting two medical cannabis initiatives.... As a result of these wins, 15 states, which also includes D.C, now have legal adult-use markets while 36 (plus D.C.) have approved medical markets. This is a special victory for an industry in which businesses are still hampered by the banking ban caused by the federal illegality. These punitive restrictions have forced many cannabis businesses to operate as cash-only enterprises even if they subsist in a legal market. Then there are the many people who remain incarcerated indefinitely for nonviolent drug possession. In a public statement, Aaron Smith, co-founder and CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Associate, the largest cannabis trade association in the U.S., hails these wins as they will mean tens of thousands of fewer arrests and new jobs, much-needed tax revenue, and increased public safety.

Way to go New Jersey!! New Jersey approved a constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for adult use on Tuesday by a ratio of about 2 to 1. With the historic vote, New Jersey became the first state in the Mid-Atlantic region to adopt legal cannabis, creating a potential $2 billion market and making it likely that criminal arrests for marijuana will be curtailed. The decision represents a potential bonanza for state taxpayers and will put pressure on Pennsylvania and New... York to follow suit, experts say. New Jersey voters have mandated an end to cannabis prohibition, and they have voiced their support for building an equitable, just market in place of unfair and outdated drug laws, said Axel Owen, campaign manager for NJ CAN 2020, which led the public relations effort to legalize the substance. So will legal weed go on sale to everyone over 21 anytime soon? Definitively, no, said Jeff Brown, assistant commissioner for the Office of Medicinal Marijuana at the New Jersey Department of Health. How soon will be determined by what the legislation looks like. That has yet to be written by the Legislature." https://www.inquirer.com//weed-marijuana-new-jersey-legal-