Residents of Philadelphia can take pride in their Prosecutor for making the right decision by implementing a program which provides for de facto decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana.
This new program, called the Small Amount of Marijuana (SAM - because government loves acronyms) program allows people that are found in possession of small amounts of marijuana to avoid arrest, conviction, imprisonment and a criminal record.
People that would have been charged with possession of marijuana (which is still illegal in Philadelphia) instead pay a $200 fee for a three hour class on drug abuse. No case is brought to trial, and no record remains after the person completes the class.
People who are charged with possession of marijuana can either enter the SAM program or opt for a trial instead. Since the implementation of the program, the vast majority of those charged with possession of marijuana chose the SAM program. It's a no brainer.
It makes sense to reduce the amount of cases that are brought to the court and the man-hours for court security, judges, lab technicians, lawyers and police officers that would otherwise have been spent to prosecute this minor offense. By instead charging a small fee, Philadelphia has taken an unproductive tax money sinkhole and turned it into a source of revenue.
Before innovative solutions like this can be found to alleviate the fiscal cost of America's costly and largely unproductive obsession with prosecution of marijuana possession offenses, the people who are in positions of power to make these decisions have to become education about these issues. They also have to have the courage to do what is right, even though the common wisdom might dictate otherwise. Philadelphia has shown that their method works, and the prosecutor's office there can focus on real crimes, instead of wasting money on prosecution of marijuana possession.