Grow Life 420

Harrisburg, PA: New data provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows that 12,439 adults and 1,057 juveniles were arrested by law enforcement for simple marijuana possession in 2021.

On average, police made 38 marijuana-related arrests per day in Pennsylvania. In all, 45 percent of all substance possession arrests in the state were for marijuana-related charges.

While the arrest total represents a year-over-year decline, marijuana reform advocates opined that the numbers still remain untenable and that they represent a policy that is out-of-step with public opinion.

“While any reduction in marijuana-related arrests reflects positively on our ongoing efforts to change the minds of our legislators, law enforcement, and the courts, we conduct this annual review of marijuana arrest numbers with heavy hearts,” said Lehigh Valley NORML’s Executive Director, Jeff Riedy. “I believe that in 2022 we need to act on honest, comprehensive reforms of our outdated laws and end the prohibition of cannabis. Period!”

The data was provided to NORML Regional Organizer Chris Goldstein from the Pennsylvania State Police upon request, and copies are available.

VIEW THE FULL DATA SHEETS

“It’s clear that cannabis consumers are targeted in Pennsylvania for arrest and the striking racial disparities to enforcement are getting worse,” said Goldstein. “These police interactions over cannabis come with enormous risk, and they have long term consequences – even more so during the pandemic. It’s time to stop marijuana arrests in Pennsylvania, right now.”

During 2021, both neighboring New Jersey and New York ceased cannabis possession arrests after comprehensive legalization laws were passed – historic moves that have left the Keystone State far behind on policy.

Women and juveniles were arrested more often for cannabis possession than for any other substance during 2021 in Pennsylvania.

Among adults, there were 7,850 women arrested for all substance possession categories during 2021 and 2,975 (38 percent) were for cannabis. Further details in the data show 1,353 Black women were arrested for all substance possession offenses in Pa. last year and 919 (68 percent) were for cannabis.

Juveniles endured the worst of prohibition enforcement in 2021. There were 1,222 people under 18 years old arrested for all substances in Pa. during 2021 and 1,057 (87 percent) were marijuana possession cases. The majority were 16 and 17 years old.

Additional data was provided on juvenile arrest outcomes. Nearly 60 percent of the arrests were referred to juvenile court, probation, criminal court, or even adult court. Only 142 (about 10 percent) of Pa. juveniles arrested for marijuana possession saw their cases handed at the police departments and then released.

Overall, cannabis possession arrests in Pa. saw a 30 percent decrease between 2020 and 2021. There was a corresponding decline in substance possession arrests overall but cannabis saw the greatest decrease last year.

While the overall number of arrests declined, the racial disparities among those arrested widened.

Among the 2,952 Hispanic or Latino adults arrested in Pennsylvania during 2021 for all substance possession offenses 1,695 (57%) were for cannabis.

Of the 13,488 total marijuana possession arrests, there were 8,220 (61%) listed as White and 5,068 (38%) listed as Black. The population of Black residents is 11% of Pennsylvania’s 12.8 million people.

Racial disparities are often presented in ‘per capita’ numbers. Here is that formula applied to this recent data:

Total marijuana arrests, white: 8,220 divided by 10.6 million is .00075. Thus, 75 white residents were arrested for marijuana per 100,000 in Pa.’s population.

Total marijuana arrests, Black: 5,068 divided by 1.4 million is .00362. Thus, 362 Black residents were arrested for marijuana per 100,000 in Pa.’s population.

The conclusion: Black residents are about five times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Pennsylvania than white counterparts, based on population. This is a major increase in 2021 from 2020 when the disparity was 3.5, a full magnitude lower.

The main factors in the year-over-year decline between 2020 and 2021 were lasting effects of the COVID19 pandemic on the public and policing, along with the impact of dozens of municipal marijuana decriminalization or penalty downgrade ordinances across Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia became the first major city in Pennsylvania to decriminalize marijuana possession offenses in 2014. Since then, more than a dozen cities — including Harrisburg — have followed suit with penalty downgrade ordinances.

Not all of these ordinances have been fully implemented. For example, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin refused to allow Allentown police to stop marijuana arrests, even after a decriminalization ordinance was passed by City Council.

Goldstein, who helped write Philadelphia’s 2014 decriminalization ordinance added, “Justice for marijuana doesn’t begin until arrests actually stop.”

VIEW THE FULL DATA SHEETS

Harrisburg, Pa. – New data provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows that 55 Pennsylvanians were arrested every day for marijuana possession in 2020. The data was provided to NORML upon request.

State and local police made 20,200 marijuana-related arrests in the Commonwealth in 2020. The total number of arrests for all other substances combined was 17,425.

Chris Goldstein, the NORML Regional Organizer who acquired the data, said, “Cannabis consumers were targeted even during the Covid19 pandemic. This shows just how aggressively prohibition is enforced, despite the unprecedented public health risks in our communities. It’s time to stop marijuana arrests, right now.”

Women and juveniles were arrested more often for cannabis possession than for any other substance. 

Philadelphia became the first major city in Pennsylvania to decriminalize marijuana possession offenses, which it did in 2014. Since then, more than a dozen cities — including Harrisburg — in the state have followed suit with penalty downgrade ordinances.

While the passage of these ordinances have somewhat quelled the rising tide of enforcement, not all of them have been fully implemented. For example, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin refused to allow Allentown police to stop marijuana arrests, even after an ordinance was passed.

There remains a striking racial disparity in the marijuana arrest data, even compared to other substance arrests. Pennsylvania’s population is approximately 12.7 million with 10.3 million white residents and approximately 1.4 million Black residents. 

Black people make up 12% of the population but 32% of marijuana arrests. 

Racial disparities are often presented in ‘per capita’ numbers. Here is that formula applied to this recent data:

Total marijuana arrests, white: 13,498 divided by 10.3 million is .00131. Thus 131 white residents were arrested for marijuana per 100,000 in Pa.’s population. 

Total marijuana arrests, Black: 6,459 divided by 1.4 million is .00461. Thus 461 Black residents were arrested for marijuana per 100,000 in Pa.’s population. 

The conclusion is that Black residents are about 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana in Pennsylvania than white counterparts, based on population.  

“Marijuana should not be used as an excuse for law enforcement to interact with otherwise law-abiding members of the public, especially during a global pandemic,” said NORML State Policies Manager Carly Wolf. “The ongoing prohibition of marijuana in Pennsylvania encroaches upon civil liberties and disproportionately impacts communities of color. It’s time for lawmakers to take action so that marijuana consumers are no longer treated as second class citizens.”

Jeff Riedy, Executive Director of Lehigh Valley NORML said, “These numbers remind us of the continued impact of the criminalization of cannabis at home while reflecting the racial disparity among arrests nationwide. The only real solution is enacting immediate decriminalization and eventual legalization of cannabis in Pennsylvania. We know that too many people’s lives are ruined for a simple possession charge, and that must end now! We’re talking about a plant.”

Goldstein who helped write Philadelphia’s 2014 decriminalization ordinance added, “Justice for marijuana doesn’t begin until arrests actually stop.” 

A screenshot of the data is included below. If you live in Pennsylvania, send a message to your lawmakers now in support of decriminalization.

Recent data shows that drug treatment admissions for marijuana have declined by 80% in Philadelphia. This is likely a result of a 2014 ordinance decriminalizing possession along with new procedures adopted by District Attorney Larry Krasner, a civil rights attorney elected in 2017.

Site reports from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) show the significant shift. In 2020 the report’s authors noted that in Philly, “Marijuana admissions have been declining for the past 5 years and have the lowest percentage of the selected substances reported.”

The NDEWS data measured admissions into Philadelphia’s publicly funded treatment programs, and others specifically mandated for monitoring. These resources were often used by those arrested for small amounts of marijuana or to comply with supervision requirements. 

Courts, prosecutors, and probation/parole have been the top referral source into drug treatment for marijuana cases for many decades. Sadly, many of these are the very same outpatient resources utilized for all other substances, like alcohol and opiates. 

According to NDEWS data Philadelphia saw 1,086 people referred into treatment for marijuana during 2015, comprising 22.6% of total admissions that year. In 2019 that number was down to 213 admissions for marijuana, making up just 6.9% of the total.

Notably, drug treatment resources seem to have immediately shifted to more pressing cases in Philadelphia. From 2015 to 2019 the total percent of admissions for heroin went from 25.1% to 46% and the total admissions for prescription opiates doubled.

More than a dozen cities in Pennsylvania have adopted ordinances to lower marijuana possession penalties, but Philly’s was the first. It also carries the lowest fines in PA at $25 for possession of under 30 grams, and $100 for public smoking. Cops can still perform an arrest under state law, but the decriminalization tickets have been issued during most encounters. That means no arrest, no court, no criminal record, no chance of supervision, and it applies to all ages. 

Marijuana arrests went down more than 70% in the first year of decriminalization in Philly, from nearly 5,000 to less than 1,000 per year. Then, when Krasner was elected, the DA’s office stopped all municipal-level prosecutions for anyone still being handcuffed for weed under PA state law.

While the police-to-treatment pipeline over small amounts of cannabis has nearly closed in Philly, this lucrative game continues almost everywhere else, even in states where cannabis is fully legal. 

The 2020 NDEWS site report for Los Angeles has an interesting view. Methamphetamine comprised 35% of total admissions, while treatments for heroin and prescription opiates are on the decline. The real standout is that thousands were put into drug treatment for marijuana in that California city; 3,633 people or 10.6% of total admissions in 2019 alone. 

Those who end up in these treatment resources are not generally self-referring because of a cannabis use disorder. Instead, those admitted are most often being forced to comply with various facets of the court system. 

Because of the common referral source, there has always been a disparity in the racial data on marijuana treatment admissions, one that closely tracks the race biases in arrest data trends.

In Los Angeles, 62% of the marijuana treatment admissions recorded during 2019 were Hispanic/Latino residents while 20% were Black and 8.4% were white.

In Philadelphia that same year, 72% of admissions recorded for marijuana were Black and 11% were white.

Some of the many ways cannabis consumers get referred by courts into treatment, other than an outright marijuana arrest:

– Parents and juveniles involved in family cases

– Drivers seeking licenses restored, or who got into an accident  

– Those going through immigration 

– People who test positive for THC during a drug screen while on probation, parole, supervision, or for employment 

Changes in policy and funding often means that people ordered to undergo drug treatment or education are now sent to for-profit providers. To comply, residents often pay out of pocket or with health insurance. 

New York City has the most volume of admissions of the NDEWS sites, between 70,000 and 80,000 per year. The site also tracks the most providers. While a handful of truly free treatment services exist in NYC, most have some fee.

Annual referrals into drug treatment for marijuana in NYC hover around 15,000 per year, just under 20% of total admissions recorded. Here again, most of the marijuana cases are coming from the courts or supervision, and demonstrate a racial bias. 

The 2019 NDEWS report has the most recent data for New York City showing 57% of marijuana treatment admissions were Black residents, the highest percentage for any substance. Treatments involving white residents for marijuana were recorded at 9% in NYC. 

To be blunt: Drug treatment is being used punitively against cannabis consumers, even in places where decriminalization and legalization laws exist. A powerful set of lobbying interests exists around the drug treatment sector, and they may not be willing to close their court referral cash cow. 

Thankfully voters can still have the greatest impact, as seen in Philadelphia where Larry Krasner stands out as the nation’s most progressive District Attorney. In fact, cities are increasingly important engines of reform. Atlanta’s Mayor recently stopped pre-employment THC screens for certain city jobs while Chicago and Detroit are seeking to create an equitable cannabis industry. 

As further state and even federal marijuana laws are enacted, cities will still need to solve the most persistent problems of prohibition. 

Chris Goldstein is a Regional Organizer for NORML based in New Jersey.