Easton City Council rejects bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana

The ordinance, offered by Councilmember Frank Pintabone, would have reduced the penalty associated with having 30 grams or less of marijuana, or 8 grams or less of hashish to a summary offense. 

“The reason for this bill is not to stain the record of someone for a small amount of marijuana,” Pintabone said at council’s Feb. 27 meeting. 

The bill defines marijuana as “all forms or varieties of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not,” and personal use as someone who “introduces marijuana into one’s own body, which includes smoking, inhaling, exhaling, vaporizing, or burning any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or other such device which contains marijuana or marijuana extracts.” 

Pintabone’s legislation also defines personal possession as the “actual physical custody of or the ability to exercise control over or have access to, for the sole purpose of one’s own personal use.” This does not include possession with intent to deliver, distribute, transfer or sell. 

The bill discusses also marijuana paraphernalia, which is defined as “any device, instrument, apparatus or object used, intended to be used, or designed to be used for introducing marijuana into the human body or for storing, containing or concealing, or transporting marijuana.” 

During the bill’s first reading on Feb. 27, Pintabone amended the original language to better prohibit public marijuana use. 

The amendment created a two-tiered system. An individual caught with marijuana in their possession would receive a $25, $35 and $45 fine, respectively, for their first, second and third offenses. 

Someone caught smoking marijuana in public would receive a first offense fine of $150, a second offense fine of $250 and a third offense fine of $300. Subsequent offenses would be the jurisdiction of federal and Pennsylvania laws. 

The rejection on Wednesday night came after an attempt to table the measure failed. 

Prior to the vote, Councilmember Roger Ruggles indicated that voting “yes” for the bill violated each councilmember’s oath of office to defend and obey the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

Ruggles said he supported the bill’s intent and would support a measure for Pennsylvania legislators to enact legislation similar to Pintabone’s bill. But doing it this way, he said, was the wrong way. 

“By doing this, we are not upholding that specific law of the commonwealth that say that this (marijuana possession) is a misdemeanor,” Ruggles said. 

“I can get behind this if our state legislators get behind this,” Councilmember Ken Brown said.  

Voting against the measure were Brown, Ruggles, Mayor Sal Panto. Voting for the measure were Councilmembers James Edinger, Pintabone and Crystal Rose. Councilmember Taiba Sultana abstained from voting.