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U.S. NEWS Thursday 26 sepTember 2019

Pennsylvania governor now

supports legalizing marijuana

By MARC LEVY what to do and what not Wolf’s announcement ad-
Associated Press to do,” Wolf told a news vances his position from
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — conference in his Capitol last December, when he
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom offices. signaled that he was open
Wolf is now in favor of le- Pushback from the Legis- to taking a look at it as it
galizing marijuana for lature’s top Republicans gathered popularity and
recreational use, saying was forceful and quick momentum, in particular
Wednesday that most of Wednesday, as it has been in bordering New Jersey
the state’s residents sup- in the past to the governor’s and New York. Still, Wolf
port it and that the state overtures on marijuana. has long supported de-
has a wealth of knowledge “Our caucus has no plans criminalizing the possession In this Aug. 15, 2019 file photo Gov. Tom Wolf speaks during a
from the experience in oth- or interest in legalizing rec- of small amounts of mari- news conference at City Hall in Philadelphia.
er states to guide it. reational marijuana,” the juana, although the Legis- Associated Press
Wolf, a second-term Dem- House’s Republican lead- lature hasn’t even seriously marijuana program. marijuana, as did a report
ocrat, packaged his an- ership said in a joint state- considered legislation to Public opinion polls in released Wednesday from
nouncement with a call to ment. that effect, and he signed Pennsylvania have shown Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s
the Republican-controlled Eleven states have ap- legislation in 2016 creat- a majority of those asked statewide listening tour on
Legislature to decriminalize proved the legalization ing Pennsylvania’s medical were in favor of legalizing legalizing marijuana.q
small amounts of marijuana of marijuana for recre-
and allow the expunge- ational use, although only
ment of past convictions of two state legislatures, in
nonviolent and small mari- Vermont and Illinois, have
juana-related crimes. passed bills to legalize
“I think it’s time for the Gen- marijuana, according to
eral Assembly to sit down the National Conference
and craft a bill that actu- of State Legislatures. Oth-
ally recognizes that Penn- erwise, voters in the other
sylvania is ready for this, states legalized marijuana
and also takes advantage through referendum, an
of what we’ve learned avenue that Pennsylvania
from other states in terms of law does not allow.

Report: More than

24,000 tainted drug

convictions tossed

BOSTON (AP) — Thousands of drug convictions have been
tossed in Massachusetts because of a former state drug
lab chemist who worked while high almost every day.
A report filed Tuesday with the state Supreme Judicial
Court says more than 24,000 convictions in 16,449 cases
have been dismissed as a result of the scandal.
The American Civil Liberties Union say the dismissals rep-
resent a “historic victory” for people wrongfully convicted
of drug crimes based on unreliable evidence.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in October that Mas-
sachusetts must dismiss all convictions based on drug evi-
dence tested at the Amherst lab between Jan. 1, 2009,
and Jan. 18, 2013, when the lab closed.
Sonja Farak pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the lab
in 2014. She was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.q