Philly420: Marijuana scores in Pa., N.J. elections

Philadelphia's mayor-elect Jim Kenney won a resounding victory on Tuesday. It was a predictable election but the fact that Kenney's support for marijuana reform helped to put him into office is a welcome innovation.

As a city councilman, Kenney championed decriminalization. Marijuana arrests had a massive racial disparity. Not only did Kenney win the issue at Council but he nudged Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey to do the right thing and implement the code. The result: A major decline in arrests and real boon in budget savings.

Kenney has also unabashedly admitted to smoking pot here and there in his youth.

As mayor, Kenney has hinted that he might look at reducing the $25 fines even further. He's also open to seeing marijuana fully legalized in Pennsylvania. As such, he stands alone as the leader of a major American city to have such an evolved position on cannabis.

This set of pro-reform positions turned out to be tremendous positive political capital for Kenney. Gov.  Wolf, a fellow Democrat, defeated a Republican incumbent last year. Wolf also favored decriminalization and medical marijuana.

Having the two most powerful political offices in Pennsylvania occupied by politicians who have taken strong stands and action on marijuana is a real game changer in the Keystone State.

Another point of interest is on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court where David Wecht, a Pittsburgh-area Democrat, won one of the open seats during the election this week. He is the son of forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht who has been a longtime supporter of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. The elder Wecht even testified before a Pa House committee in favor of legislation.

In an OPED for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Dr. Cyril Wecht wrote:

It is time for the mythology of marijuana to be exposed and set aside. A scientifically objective, societally reasonable and legally just approach should be adopted that would allow for the appropriate medical use of marijuana. A relatively mild drug that does not lead to death and which can alleviate physical and emotional pain and suffering deserves to be added to the therapeutic armamentarium of American medicine. Such a policy would be beneficial in many ways.

It is long overdue for the legacy of scientific ignorance, racial bigotry and political fanaticism that has seriously damaged so many lives to be exposed, dissected and buried.

David Wecht has served as a Court of Common Pleas Judge and Superior Court Judge. The Shady Side Democrats of Pittsburgh asked Wecht what he thought of marijuana decriminalization before the Supreme Court election this was his response:

The issue of decriminalization, ultimately, is a question that must be taken up by the legislature. I am a firm believer in checks and balances, and I do not believe that judges of the Commonwealth should seek to act as legislators or seek to influence the legislative process. Until the General Assembly sees fit to change the laws of our Commonwealth, marijuana remains an illegal narcotic and if elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania it will be my responsibility to enforce that prohibition.

That being said, the mass incarceration of non-violent offenders (many of whom are guilty solely of narcotics-related offenses) is an issue that vexes our penal system. It hampers the efficiency of the courts by flooding the dockets with appeals. Moreover, such incarceration often inflicts a severe social cost by transforming non-violent offenders into hardened criminals (or victims of prison violence).

That is a fair and well-thought position for a judge.

Across the river in New Jersey a political upset on Election Day in Monmouth County unseated one of the state's most vocal prohibitionists. Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini, an incumbent Republican, lost her seat in a surprise defeat.

From the Assembly, in the press, and through her Prevention First organization, Angelini has railed against any level of marijuana reform. Her non-profit has a mission of addiction education and acts as a referral service for treatment centers. Prevention First is funded through tax supported grants from counties and the state of New Jersey. Other than Gov.Christie, Angelini has used her dual roles to be the most visible marijuana prohibition supporter in the state.

Angelini's involvement with Prevention First, it's direct taxpayer funding, and her annual salary from the organization was a main theme of attack ads run against her during the campaign.

N.J. Democrats overall had a banner year, winning their biggest majority in the N.J. Assembly in recent memory.

It bodes well for full marijuana legalization. The N.J. Municipal Prosecutors Association along with several prominent Democrats like St. Sen. Nicholas Scutari and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora have already called for an end to prohibition. Once Chris Christie moves out of the Governor's mansion, cannabis could bring a real economic boom.

Chris Goldstein is associate editor of Freedom Leaf magazine and co-chair of PhillyNorml. Contact him at chris@freedomisgreen.com.