cannabisnews.com: Tullytown Council Weighs Reducing Pot Penalty 





Tullytown Council Weighs Reducing Pot Penalty 
Posted by FoM on February 20, 2001 at 06:33:42 PT
By Elizabeth Fisher, Courier Times
Source: Bucks County Courier Times
Getting caught with a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor and could land a person in jail for up to a year. However, that might change in Tullytown if the council votes at its March 6 meeting to create a disorderly practices ordinance allowing cops to issue a nontraffic citation to suspects holding a small amount of the substance. 
The most a convicted person would face is a $300 fine.But don't rush to set up shop, Tullytown police Chief Patrick Priore said. The proposed ordinance is not an automatic offer. Priore says officers still can send the case to Bucks County court, where a suspect will face a stiffer penalty. The proposed ordinance is not music to the ears of Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons."I don't know why they would do that. Any kind of drug offense is a crime," Gibbons said. Gibbons said she feared that someone cited in Tullytown for marijuana and caught again in another municipality would appear to be a first-time offender and get a lighter sentence."I wouldn't know about a previous ordinance conviction when a case comes to court," she said. "This could give someone two bites of the apple." The ordinance would include drinking in public and possession of controlled substances. Its purpose is to discourage gangs of kids hanging out on borough corners either drinking or smoking pot, although Priore admits that's not a big problem in the borough.Depending on the circumstances, those under 18 and/or first-time offenders might get a break. Repeat offenders will not, Priore said."It's more geared toward kids. It gives them a chance to go straight," the chief said. If prosecuted as a misdemeanor, an offender's case would be handled through the district attorney's office, and the offender could face higher fines and a possible one-year jail term.Under the proposed borough ordinance, a nontraffic citation could be issued for someone carrying a small amount of marijuana. The case would be handled at the district court level, and conviction could mean a $300 fine.Municipalities are permitted to pass ordinances that are more lenient than state laws, said Tullytown's solicitor."There is a specific state statue that allows municipalities the option to create local ordinances that deal with the same offenses," solicitor Kevin Bradway said. "Sometimes handling these cases on a district justice level can lead to very good results."Falls has a similar ordinance on the books, but it is not often used. Department policy is to file misdemeanor charges against a suspect carrying illegal drugs. The only difference for carrying a "small amount" is the penalty, acting Chief Neil Harkins said.Up to 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish are considered small amounts. If police determine there is no intent to sell the drug, the sentence might be as low as 30 days in jail and a lesser fine compared to a year in jail and heavier fines for a charge of intent to sell, he said. Some officers in other municipalities admit they use their discretion and write tickets for disorderly conduct if they find someone with a small amount of marijuana in his or her possession. But they asked not to be identified.Newtown Borough does not have any local ordinance dealing with nontraffic citations for drug arrests, no matter how small the amount."If our officers make a drug arrest, we charge them. We have no specific ordinance about that," police Chief John Feeney said.Morrisville also does not have a local ordinance about drug arrests, borough solicitor Stephen Needles said."This seems to be a newfangled type of idea some municipalities are coming up with that results in more lenient ways to handle cases like this," Needles said. "I guess other municipalities will be watching them to see how it works."Proposed Disorderly Practices Ordinance:Section 1. The following being committed within Tullytown Borough are hereby determined to be disorderly practices:To assemble or congregate with another or others for the purpose or with the intent to engage in the illegal sale, illegal use, or illegal possession of alcoholic beverages or narcotics, drugs or controlled substances; or to use any drug or substance defined as a controlled substance under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.Section 2. Any person who shall violate any subsection of this ordinance may be charged with the offense of disorderly practices and on conviction thereof, may be found guilty of disorderly practices. Section 3. Any person who shall violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of the ordinance shall, upon summary conviction before any district justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $300 together with costs of prosecution.Section 4. If any sentence, clause, section or part of this ordinance is for any reason found unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the remainder of the ordinance, it being the express intention of the council of Tullytown that such an ordinance would have been adopted without such parts which are found to be unconstitutional or invalid. A vote on whether to lessen the penalty for pot possession is expected. Police say the new ordinance is a crime-fighting tool.Note: Getting caught with a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor and could land a person in jail for up to a year. Source: Bucks County Courier Times (PA) Author: Elizabeth Fisher, Courier TimesPublished: Monday, February 19, 2001Copyright: 2001 Calkins Newspapers. Inc. Address: 8400 Route 13, Levittown, PA Website: http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/index.shtml Feedback: http://www.phillyburbs.com/feedback/content_cti.shtml Related Article:Which States Have Decriminalized MJ Possession?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8678.shtmlCannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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