Ohio has approved recreational marijuana use, but you can still get in trouble if you have it in Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pennsylvania has become an island surrounded by states that allow or have approved the use of recreational marijuana -- but what does that mean for people here in the Keystone State?
KDKA's John Shumway took that question to the newly elected district attorney of Beaver County.
This isn't the first time Pennsylvanians have been drawn across state lines for something we couldn't get here.
Remember the quests for Powerball tickets or fireworks back in the day? Now we can put recreational marijuana on that list.
We can get fireworks these days just down the street and lottery tickets are everywhere. While we can get a prescription for medical marijuana, for recreational marijuana, it means a trip out of the state.
While Nate Bible knows his responsibility as the incoming Beaver County District Attorney, he's not exactly embracing his staff focus on marijuana misdemeanors.
"My job is still to enforce the law," Bible said. "And as long as it's illegal, I do I do have to enforce it. I would really like for my law enforcement I'd really like for my assistant DA's to focus on, you know, the real crimes in my opinion."
As a public defender, he's seen hours of police and court time wasted over minor marijuana possession charges.
"And then sometimes, you sit there for hours before your case gets heard, ultimately just for a fine," Bible said.
Bible says he would like to see possession made a summary offense.
"You give these people a non-traffic violation in summary, right? Basically like a parking ticket, and they can just mail it in and pay their fine," Bible said.
But until then, if you go to Ohio to buy recreational marijuana and bring it home, Bible says that as long as it remains illegal, he will have to enforce the law. However, Bible says that he doesn't expect a wave of arrests and prosecutions.
While Ohio voters approved it with it set to become official on December 7, if it were to become legal here in Pennsylvania, the legislature must create the rules to govern it and that could take a while.
A bill was introduced in May here in Pennsylvania, but like so many controversial bills, it's been referred to committee, where it sits and has not been brought up for a vote.
