Erie officials are moving forward with a townwide ban on recreational marijuana businesses following heated debate during Tuesday's meeting.

The board was divided over two options aimed at prohibiting marijuana operations in Erie.

An informal tally by Mayor Tina Harris found four officials in favor of the ban and three favoring a yearlong extension of the town's existing moratorium, which expires Dec. 31.

The board did not take an official vote on the ordinance, but asked staff to bring the ban back for a vote at its next meeting Nov. 10.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society, while still opposed to the broad-based legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, has “updated” its position on the issue.

This weekend, at the Medical Society’s annual House of Delegates meeting, the state’s largest physician organization voted overwhelmingly to ask the state to fund research on the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

“Physicians prefer thorough research before prescribing medications,” said Shapiro, an Abington cardiologist. “Obviously, this won’t please those who want the Medical Society to rubber stamp Senate Bill 3 or bills like it, but clearly there are many physicians who doubt that bill or any similar one is the right path to take and that compassionate care is best done through research-based programs that involve significant oversight and safety.

PHILADELPHIA — Arrests in Philadelphia for marijuana possession have plunged in the year since the city decriminalized possession of small amounts of the drug.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that arrests have fallen 75 percent since the law was enacted.

And the paper says police aren't making up for the drop by issuing tickets, since arrests and citations combined are 42 percent below the total arrests made in the same time last year.

Marijuana possession remains illegal in Philadelphia, but having up to 30 grams or a little more than an ounce is punishable only by a citation and a $25 fine.

Public use of small amounts of marijuana carries the stiffer penalty of a citation along with a $100 fine or up to nine hours of community service.

Fairly often, the beeping of car horns drowned out parts of what the speakers were saying to the crowd. But they didn't seem to mind.

After all, the noisy motorists were obeying one of the signs the crowd was holding up: "Honk for hemp."

About 50 people gathered Saturday afternoon in the southeastern quadrant of Continental Square in York City, coalescing at the corner of George and Market streets to show support for full or partial legalization of marijuana and to hear several people speak in an rally hosted by Keystone Cannabis Coalition.

Several people spoke about the various reasons why they wanted pot to be legal — for reasons medical to criminal-justice based, or just because they felt like they should be able to smoke it if they want to do so.

Super-majorities of voters believe that medical cannabis should be legal, and most men additionally support legalizing marijuana for all adults, according to the results of a Quinnipiac University Swing State poll.

Pollsters gauged support for marijuana law reform in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Florida voters backed legalizing cannabis therapy by a margin of 87 percent to 12 percent. A majority of male voters (57 percent) also supported broader legalization, while only 49 percent of women agreed.

State Rep. Mike Regan (R-York/Cumberland) reassured the public recently that the House medical cannabis task force recommendations on legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania steer clear of anything having to do with legalizing recreational use of the drug. 

"Our report makes it clear that legalized medical cannabis would only be allowed in the form of pills, oils and vaporization and not through smoking or 'edible' form," Regan said. "There is nothing involved in this report that would legalize a recreational usage," 

A whopping 92 percent of women support medical marijuana compared with just 7 percent who are opposed. But only 43 percent of women surveyed said they back full legalization. For men, 87 percent supported use of medical marijuana if prescribed by a doctor while 52 percent said they were in favor of allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of the drug for "personal use."

Overall Pa. voters are split on full legalization – 49 percent are against it while 47 percent are for it – though unsurprisingly, two-thirds of voters 18-34 years old support recreational use of small amounts of marijuana.

Only 15 percent of respondents said they would probably or definitely use marijuana if it was legalized.

As promised, the Pennsylvania Medical Society and Campaign for Compassion shared a guest blog, in which each group explained its stance on medical marijuana.

The goal was to understand the different viewpoints — engage in a constructive debate, so to speak.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society doesn’t support Senate Bill 3, which would legalize the medical use of marijuana for specific illnesses in the state, because of lack of research and lack of FDA approval for the substance's use in treatment. The group urges supporters of the bill to wait, to slow down and do it right.

A year ago Philadelphia decriminalized marijuana, though the main actors in that historical moment—the mayor and a City Councilman—have vastly differing views of the plant itself.

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He walked in minutes ahead of the Mayor of Philadelphia and took a seat in one of the large chairs on the left side of the Mayor’s Reception Room on the second floor of City Hall.

Mr. Jim Kenney, an At-large City Councilman at the time, sat with his legs crossed, in his usual laid back demeanor, though he projected a quiet sense of pride and accomplishment, making it known, albeit subtle, that the impending signing of a major bill into law wasn’t lost on him.