Philadelphia

Philly Mayor Kenney: Legalize Pot like Colorado

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney came out in favor of legalizing marijuana one day after 22 people were arrested at a pot party early Sunday morning.

“The real solution is to legalize it in the state of Pennsylvania as they did in Colorado and we won’t have to use police resources in these kinds of activities,” Kenney told a group of reporters Monday morning.

The so-called “Philly Smoke Session” was organized via social media and held in a Frankford warehouse. Three women and 19 men were arrested. Police confiscated 50 pounds of marijuana, $50,000 in cash, four handguns and several edibles.

Police said they had been planning a bust for two months. Kenney was not aware of their investigation.

“I don’t micromanage the police department and they don’t tell us what they were doing,” the mayor said.

Pennsylvania State Sen. Daylin Leach, who co-sponsored a medical marijuana bill, told NBC10 Friday that he is also in favor of legalizing cannabis. Leach and his co-sponsor on the bill, Sen. Mike Folmer, were both attending the World Medical Marijuana Conference & Expo in Pittsburgh. Folmer used cannabis-based treatment to help cope with chemotherapy while battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In March, Gov. Tom Wolf said Pennsylvania is not ready for full legalization.

Meanwhile, Delaware Gov. John Carney is weighing whether or not to introduce recreational legislation to his state.

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