Expressing the Sense of Council of Allegheny County calling for the General Assembly to support Senate Bill 528, or the “Regulate Marijuana Act” and to enact this proposed legislation or similar legislation which would provide for the personal use of marijuana, for lawful operation of marijuana-related facilities, and for the regulation of marijuana for employers, minors, and making related repeals.
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach introduced Senate Bill 528 which purports to legalize marijuana for medical use and for use under State regulation; and
WHEREAS, SB 528 has achieved bi-partisan support, sponsored by State Senators Leach, Farnese, and Ferlo and has been referred to the Committee on Law and Justice; and
WHEREAS, Senator Leach has asserted that the cost of enforcement of this issue is horrific and unconscionable at a time Pennsylvania is closing schools, laying off teachers and raising school taxes, noting that 24,685 marijuana arrests were made in Pennsylvania in 2006 translating into $325 million in criminal justice costs annually on marijuana arrests and prosecutions, mostly for recreational users with small quantities; and
WHEREAS, this legislation, as written, provides that legal use of marijuana be limited to those 21 years of age and over, taxed, and regulated in the same manner as alcohol for the public safety and health of the citizens of the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the proposed legislation individuals would have to show proof of age before purchasing marijuana, selling to those under the age of 21 will remain illegal, driving under the influence of marijuana will remain illegal, and all sales will be conducted from State-operated stores with the requisite labeling and consumer protection; and
WHEREAS, if passed in Pennsylvania, patients suffering from cancer, chemotherapy side-effects, AIDS-related anorexia, epilepsy and other neurological disorders who are today barred from effective marijuana-based therapies wo...
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