Save Philadelphia: End the War on Pot.
The Asylum Street Spankers, “Winning the War on Drugs”, thanks to kinmo in comments
penalties for marijuana possession in PA (warning, pdf):
Possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.
The penalties for possession of greater than 30 grams increase to a possible one year in prison and a fine up to $5,000.
Delivery for no remuneration of 30 grams or less of marijuana is treated as possession with a possible penalty of 30 days in jail and a fine up to $500….
Delivery of marijuana within 1,000 ft of a school or within 250 ft. of recreational playground is punishable by 2-4 years in prison.
Possession or sale of paraphernalia is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine up to $2,500, unless the sale was to a minor, in which case the possible penalties double.
By doing away with the prison sentences, for nonviolent simple marijuana possession, Philadelphia could save millions:
Back in March, the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority released a study called, “City Budget Behind Bars: Increasing Prison Population Drives Rapidly Escalating Costs.” So how much is the city expected to pay in prison costs?
- In FY97, the year covered by the Five-Year Plan quoted above, prisons costs came in over budget. Instead of the $111.4 million projected in the budget, they were $117.5 million. In FY07, the prisons budget, now far larger, is also likely to come in well above budget. While the prisons budget for FY07 was $194.2 million, costs are now projected to be $207 million. FY07 will continue a pattern of prisons costs increasing rapidly and faster than budgeted (the prisons system has exceeded its budget each year since FY97).
- That increase in costs has meant that the prison system’s general fund cost per inmate has grown. In FY97, the cost per inmate was about $20,600 per year. In FY07 the cost per inmate is projected to be over $23,300 per year, a 13 percent increase.
- The growth in general fund healthcare costs is a combination of the increase in the cost per inmate and in the number of inmates, with the growth in the cost per inmate being a far bigger factor. Since FY97, the cost for healthcare has grown almost 190 percent while the average inmate population has grown just over 55 percent.
To put it in perspective, for FY08, the city budgeted $219 million for prison costs. For that same year, according to the mayor’s budget brief, the combined budgets of the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Fairmount Park Commission, the Sanitation Division, the Streets Department and the city’s contribution to the School District comes to $218 million. If revenues don’t grow quickly, any increase in costs for prisons is going to have to come out the budgets for those other departments. And we haven’t even got into pension and healthcare costs for current and retired city employees.
America’s drug war is killing Philadelphia. The drug war is never going to end (there is far too much money at stake for far too many bad actors/stakeholders), and that’s sad considering the substantial revenue to be made by selling and taxing the stuff the same way we do alcohol an dtobacco. But in Philadelphia at least, a truce should be reached between the city and its numerous potheads, if only to drum up revenue and save money in an economic crisis. I realize in the 1980s it became something of a national hobby to pretend that potheads were dangerous scary people who want to introduce your kids to heroin and cocaine, but really they just want to get baked, watch tv and eat Combos. I’ve always felt the law about possession near a schoolwas ridiculous: not all potheads (if any) are pushers, and typically keep business within a tight circle of other potheads. The fact that a stoner lives near a school or park has nothing to do with how that stoner behaves, anymore than an alcoholic living near a park is likely to buy booze for minors. It’s a gigantic leap of logic, and a false one.
It’s time to get serious about pot in Philadelphia. Pot is typically sold either in 1/8 of an ounce increments, or by the gram; 1/8 of an ounce is about 3.5 grams Sending someone to jail for up to 30 days for 3.5 grams of pot is stupid and destructive: there is no other way to describe it.
By doing away with obsolete and costly policies that incarcerate people for marijuana possession, there is a substantial savings to be had in the prisons budget (which the mayor hasn’t touched, pdf). Just as the city plans to increase in parking ticket fines, the city should also consider raising fines for possession, which would bring in some revenue.
Save our city, end the war on the pot.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
That reminds me….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVkk6fH2u0Y
February 10th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
[...] only knows how many people he sent to jail. Say, how much does that cost anyway? That increase in costs has meant that the prison system’s general fund cost per inmate has grown. [...]