The Philadelphia skyline at night, as seen from the South St. Bridge. (Jordan Staub/Flickr)
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Newly elected District Attorney Larry Krasner has announced that his office will no longer prosecute marijuana possession offense violations.
Although city policy has already decriminalized most minor marijuana possession offenses, police have continued to make several hundred possession arrests annually.
Going forward, the DA’s office will drop these charges. Krasner said that the change in policy is “the right thing to do.”
His actions come days after Seattle city officials announced their intentions to vacate the criminal convictions of minor marijuana possession offenders.
In recent days, city officials in both San Francisco and in Alameda County, California have also announced plans to automatically reduce or expunge thousands of past marijuana convictions.
Tags: dismissal, expungement, Larry Krasner, Philadelphia, Philadelphia marijuana, vacate