skip to Main Content
Pittsburgh City Council Votes to Reduce Penalties for Marijuana Possession and Use

Possessing or smoking a small amount of marijuana in the city of Pittsburgh will be punishable by a summary offense, rather than a misdemeanor as state law mandates, Pittsburgh City Council decreed today.

Council voted 8-1, with the lone nay vote from Councilwoman Darlene Harris who consistently argued that decriminalization must happen on the state or federal level.

Mayor Bill Peduto is expected to sign the amended ordinance within 10 days, making it law.

Under the rule, Pittsburgh police could issue a summary citation punishable by a fine of $100 for smoking or $25 for possession of a small amount of marijuana. That would appear on a criminal record as violating “certain defined conduct” rather than including words such as marijuana or controlled substance, making it harder to search for in a person’s criminal record.

Summaries can be expunged in five years if the defendant is convicted and do not require the defendant to be fingerprinted or to appear at a preliminary hearing. [Read more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

This Post Has 0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Stories

CDTFA Cannabis Creditor: Myths and Truths

By Hilary Bricken, Attorney at Husch Blackwell Dealing with creditors is never a fun experience. However, some creditors are more severe than others, especially in the cannabis industry. One of…

If FL Supreme Court approves cannabis ballot language, will voters go for recreational weed or not?

The long wait on whether Floridians will get a chance to vote to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older is almost over, as the Florida Supreme Court is…

Missouri strips marijuana licenses connected to company accused of predatory behavior

Missouri’s health department on Wednesday stripped two coveted marijuana micro-licenses tied to an out-of-state company that had been accused of predatory practices and had listed the licenses for resale. The…

Dug In: Big Island Grown’s Deep Cannabis Roots

Big Island Grown (BIG) is a vertically integrated cannabis company based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii County, on the Big Island of Hawaii, whose reach now extends to several islands in the…

More Categories

Back To Top
×Close search
Search