By 9 a.m., 17 speakers had signed up address Pittsburgh City Council on Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle’s pending legislation to decriminalize marijuana possession—but far more showed up to support the measure, and shout encouragement to the speakers.
As the New Pittsburgh Courier reported in November, the legislation would make possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, or eight grams of hashish, equivalent to a parking violation, resulting in a citation and a fine.
The impetus for the bill is the disparate level of enforcement brought against Black offenders versus their White counterparts. According to Pittsburgh crime statistics Blacks are charged with criminal possession of an ounce or less five times more often than Whites.
And though the criminal charges are almost always reduced to a fine, the records of charges, arrests and fingerprints remained, have resulted in people losing jobs and even housing.
Brandi Fisher, president of Alliance for Police Accountability, who worked to craft the legislation with Lavelle’s office, the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Pittsburgh office of the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws, said the legislation can have the added benefit of not only improving relations between the police and the Black community, but also freeing up police resources to address violent crime in the city.
“It can really cause a strain for people who are constantly being stopped because they smell like marijuana, especially when Blacks don’t see it happening in other communities,” she said. “And it can save money too. The El brothers, who were stopped on just suspicion of buying weed, are suing the city for what happened after that.”
What happened is they were charged with aggravated assault, even though police video from the July 2013 arrest appears to show Pittsburgh police officers slamming then 20-year-old Will El against a wall and Tasering 18-year-old Beyshaud El after they had already been stopped, searched and detained. Both were then charged. Neither brother has a police record and no weapons or drugs were found during the stop.
Because Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said he would work to help council, Mayor Bill Peduto and police Chief Cameron McLay accomplish their goals, and the support of a majority of council, Fisher said an organized “action” wasn’t planned for the hearing.
“Maybe for the vote,” she said.
Dan Wood, legislative aide to Lavelle, said following the public hearing, the bill will go for a preliminary vote.
“That vote is tomorrow (Dec. 16) and final vote is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 21, so it can be done by the end of the year—otherwise we have to go through it all again next year,” he said.
“Because of the visibility of the topic, I expect more than the usual number of councilmembers present at the hearing.”
Wood added that other than Councilwomen Darlene Harris and Theresa Kail-Smith, who have said they cannot support it, the remaining seven council members seem to favor the bill.
“It will be interesting,” he said.
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
Editors Note: The bill passed a preliminary vote on Wednesday.
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