Philadelphia District Attorney Says His Office Will Not Prosecute Minor Cannabis Crimes – News

local public radio station WHYY. “We are going to tell them to drop any cases that are simply marijuana possession – not selling, not possession with the intent to deliver. “

Krasner, who took office just last month, is explicitly seeking to imprison fewer Philadelphians than his predecessors while also going after the city’s real criminals. Html”>Krasner has already announced a lawsuit against 10 pharmaceutical companies that he says were most responsible for creating the opioid epidemic across the country and in Philadelphia, specifically.

“The city of Philadelphia has been hurt more than any other city in the nation by the scourge of opioids,” Krasner said. “The time for us to act was yesterday, and it is now. “

“Make no mistake, it isn’t just going to be the kids on the corner,” Krasner continued. “It’s going to be Big Pharma, it’s going to be doctors, it’s going to be pain centers, it’s going to be pharmacies, and to the extent we have an opportunity, it’s going to be distributors who think that money is more important than lives. “

And while Krasner’s cannabis reform and opioid lawsuit were announced days apart at seperate press conferences, the intersectional benefits of both actions are not lost on the District Attorney.

“There’s a direct relation between reducing opioids and opiate deaths and making marijuana available,” Krasner told reporters at last week’s cannabis-focused press conference.