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Drugs
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide is back: and yes, it did go (mostly) away for a while.
Today, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office announced charges against an alleged “ring” of LSD dealers who had been operating on Drexel’s campus— to the tune of as much as $5,000 to $15,000 per week’s worth, according to the DA.
Putting aside tantalizing details like the Homer Simpson blotter paper and the 9,500 hits the ring was allegedly busted with — and putting aside the question of how we all feel about the drug wars, especially when it comes to drugs not usually associated with violence — what makes this bust particularly interesting is that it seems to be indicative of the resurrection of LSD.
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| Courtesy of the Pennsylvania House |
| Rep. Mark Cohen |
Yes, it's cool and all that state Rep. Mark Cohen (D-Philadelphia) introduced a bill back in April '09 to legalize medical marijuana. (It's cool, as well, that state Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) introduced a matching bill in the Senate this May.) But both bills are stalled in committee ⦠and what chance do they have of ever getting out, in this conservative bizarro old-people land known as Pennsylvania?
More than you might think, it turns out. According to a recent Franklin & Marshall poll, 80 percent of voters favor medical marijuana. 80 percent! Do you know how many people in Pennsylvania are old as shit? That's a lot of old people saying medical marijuana is OK by them. Pretty encouraging.
Terry Madonna and Berwood Yost, of F&M, call this proportion "striking."
"Just about every demographic group supports the use of medical marijuana, but the likelihood of supporting it is higher among women than men, among liberals and moderates than conservatives, and among those who do not consider themselves born-again Christians," wrote Madonna and Yost in a press release.
Even more interesting: Although four in five Pennsylvanians support medical weed, only one in three — or 33 percent — support complete legalization. Still, that's up from 22 percent two years ago.
[...] POLL: 80% of Keystoners back medical marijuana… Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL. . [...]
[...] Good News: Pennsylvanians like pot (so long as it's medicinal … [...]
[...] Good News: Pennsylvanians like pot (so long as it’s medicinal) :: The Clog :: Blog Archive :: ... [...]
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Anyone who's been to a music festival has had the misfortune of walking past Nitrous Row, where concertgoers huff a sorta-legal chemical that gives you a measly 30-second high. Sometimes the users faceplant after a hit, others just huff balloon after balloon, seemingly never getting to the uh show they ostensibly came for. It's all kind of a drag. And guess which two cities are largely responsible for the scene being the way it is? Boston and
The Philadelphia ring is larger and split up into several sub-crews who know each other but operate independently, says Sean. "The Philly guys are more reckless," he says, and more prone to violence and intimidation. "They operate without a code of honor. They were the first kids I saw bringing guns to the lots and putting fuckin' shit to people's heads." The Philadelphia don, who owns his own nitrous supply store and has several workers underneath him, is less apt to show up at festivals himself, says Sean. "He's a fucking nut job," he adds, noting that even Dmitri is deferential to him.
Read the rest of the Village Voice piece here.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper and CraneKickChronicles, philly news now. philly news now said: Philly: Now also responsible for harshing your nitrous buzz: Anyone whos been to a music festival has had the mi... http://bit.ly/bktPcq [...]
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| Photo | Courtesy of How Stuff Works |
But it's pretty damn close to being decriminalized.
Remember when we told you back in April that District Attorney Seth Williams announced that the possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less would be treated as a summary offense, rather than lead to possible jail time and a criminal record, as it did before? (A summary offense, by the way, means that cops can choose to either do a custodial arrest or issue a court appearance date. Should be interesting to see how that decision goes down the majority of the time.)
Anyway, the policy goes into effect today, PhillyNORML reports! Party time.
PREVIOUSLY>> Weed is practically decriminalized in Philly
PREVIOUSLY>> Seth Williams: "We are not decriminalizing marijuana"
Seth Williams is a g-dsend! I am not just saying that because I enjoy cannabis, and do not enjoy being hassled by cops in the illadelph - I'm saying it because the man is brilliant. He is saving the city of brotherly love more than $3 million per year, and an immeasurable amoutnt of time for police officers and court employees. Bravo, Mr. Williams, bravo!
The Inquirer may have overstated today's good weed news. Like we told you earlier, the Inky reported that the state Supreme Court and District Attorney Seth Williams have announced that the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana in Philly will become more lax starting at end of April. (The title of the Inky story is, in fact, "Philadelphia to ease marijuana penalty.") But check out this press release we just got from Williams:
We are not decriminalizing marijuana any effort like that would be one for the legislature to undertake. The penalty available for these minimal amount offenses remains exactly the same. What we are doing is properly dealing with cases involving minimal amounts of marijuana in the most efficient and cost effective process possible. Those arrested for these offenses will still be restrained, identified and processed by police in police custody. They will still have to answer to the charges, but they will be doing so in a speedier and more efficient process. We want to use valuable court resources in the best way possible and we believe that means giving minor drug offenders the option of getting into diversionary programs, get drug education or enter drug treatment centers. Again we are NOT decriminalizing marijuana, and the penalty for these offenses remains the same.
We'll update as we find out more.
PREVIOUSLY >> Weed is practically decriminalized in Philly
awww yea...you go Seth!
[...] Being Painted Over Today?This Just In: Let The Seth Williams Backpedaling Dance Party Begin!From a press release just sent out by D.A. Seth Williams:We are not decriminalizing marijuana any effort like that would be one for the legislature to [...]
Who is Seth Williams? I don't get this article. weird.
[...] Seth Williams: "We are not decriminalizing marijuana" Tags: marijuana, seth williams Weed is decriminalized in Philly starting today. Just kidding, [...]
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| Photo | Courtesy of How Stuff Works |
Thanks to the state Supreme Court and District Attorney Seth Williams, Philadelphians caught with wee amounts of marijuana (up to 30 grams) will be charged with a summary offense rather than a misdemeanor beginning later this month, says the Inquirer. Additionally, they may have to pay a fine (money for the city, hello!), but will not face a criminal record. This is all in an effort to unclog the city's court system.
'Course, cops are none too pleased about this, and plan on still arresting the hell out of potheads. Plus, Williams and co. aren't too sure yet if this will require a change to state or city law. Read up on the whole story over at the Inky.
True dat. Legalize it Philly. It's the town of stoners anyways.
Come on Philly. This town is known for partying. Legalize the weed already.
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by citypaper: Weed = practically decriminalized in Philly http://bit.ly/b5RzpZ...
[...] when we told you back in April that District Attorney Seth Williams announced that the possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less [...]
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