BUSTED!

For Just A Joint? Not Likely In Philadelphia

Couldn't wait to get home before blazing up? Just had to spark that joint in
public where anybody within a 50-foot radius could smell it, huh? Guess
what, Cheech? Chances are you ain't gonna be in all that much trouble should
the cops catch a blast of the chronic here in Philly.

Turns out some city cops and a couple folks over at Municipal Court hold the
offense in about the same regard as an open container violation. It's not
that they're soft on drugs; it's just that hauling someone in for smoking a
joint just isn't worth the time.

State law says anyone nabbed with less than 30 grams--a shade over an ounce,
for those of you not in the metric know--faces a misdemeanor possession
charge that carries a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

But that book is rarely thrown--unless, of course, the offenders play for
the Eagles and happen to be driving down South Street with weed wafting from
their SUV. That curious case notwithstanding, it seems that the
wink-and-nudge approach to marijuana control is alive and well.

"Sometimes there's a difference between your judgement and the letter of the
law," a Center City police officer told PW in a recent conversation. "The
letter of the law says you have to arrest them. But if somebody walks by
smoking a joint--and has nothing else on them--well, I know what I'd do, so
I better not say. Let's just say common sense prevails."

Had District Attorney Lynne Abraham's spokeswoman returned calls for comment
last week, she likely would have disagreed with that officer's assessment.
The DA proved her belief in a hard-line stance when she created a Public
Nuisance Task Force 10 years ago to help neighborhood groups combat drug-
and alcohol-related activities.

Along with drug houses and nuisance bars, the District Attorney's Office has
gone after "weed stores," or corner markets serving as drug fronts. A 1995
sweep closed up some 43 shops mostly in West Philadelphia. Earlier this year
undercover cops arrested 51 people after selling them nickel bags of
marijuana (which was actually high-grade oregano) at 22nd and Somerset in
North Philly.

Also falling into the exception-rather-than-the-rule category of marijuana
arrests was a 1997 crackdown at Vet Stadium after a Daily News article
exposed the revelation that fans were toking in the upper levels at
halftime. At a game two weeks later, undercover cops arrested 10 people in a
sweep that launched Municipal Court Judge Seamus McCaffery's Eagles Court.

Known for being tough on quality-of-life offenders, McCaffery saddled some
people with a $412 fine for simply smoking a joint. Those who just pleaded
guilty paid $115.50 in court costs and served 25 hours of community service.

But for McCaffery, following the law doesn't necessarily mean he thinks
someone caught with a small amount of marijuana should be led to the town
square for a different kind of stoning.

"We've gotten to the point where it's pretty much looked upon the same way
[as an open container or public urination violation]," he says. "People who
smoke dope range from professionals to street-corner folks. Around here, the
big thing is always 'How do we know that lawyer doesn't smoke it? Or that
doctor? People my age grew up at a time when marijuana was common."

City police launched "Operation Safe Streets" earlier this month to clean up
known drug corners across the city. While it's an ambitious effort, it
doesn't resemble former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's marijuana eradication
program of the 1990s.

In 1992, some 720 people got busted in NYC for publicly smoking marijuana.
Seven years later--with cops urged to arrest any smoker they could get their
hands on--that number jumped to 33,471.

Immediately, legalization proponents and civil liberties groups cried foul.
Their argument: Most of the 76 million Americans who admit to having smoked
marijuana are not violent criminals and should be left to enjoy their joints
in peace.

Even as many police officers say they're loath to make small amount arrests,
pro-legalization groups cite stats that show 88 percent of the nearly
735,000 people arrested in 2000 on marijuana charges were charged with
possession alone. (Philadelphia Police didn't have exact numbers for the
city, but statewide numbers mirror that national trend).

Nobody's expecting a repeat performance of the Giuliani effort here, largely
because cocaine and heroin pose a far greater threat. Housing Authority
Police Chief Richard Zappile questions whether it's even worth charging
someone for smoking a joint, and city patrol officers concede it's not their
top priority.

Anyone stupid enough to walk around Center City smoking a joint deserves to
get handcuffed and charged, says one officer. But while he says that's
exactly what he would do if he encountered a street toker, he doubts many of
his peers would do the same.

"A lot of guys look the other way. And yeah, we do have more important
things to worry about," the officer explains. "In North Philly, it's
different. There's so much up there that you can't stop everybody. But down
here [in Center City], I'd have to arrest somebody for that."

Back on the judicial side, Municipal Court officials recognize that someone
facing minor possession charges doesn't belong on the same track as
murderers, rapists or even dealers. So starting next month, they'll be
shuffled off to nuisance court, where first-time offenders can qualify to
take a three-hour course where, after shelling out $150 for the class, their
record is cleansed.

Still, some officers claim they won't even let it get to that point.

"Personally, if it was one joint, I'd stomp on it and send them on their
way," one officer says. "Arresting someone for that would tie me up for too
long. It'd keep me from doing other things, important things."