After decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana in October, Philadelphia marijuana arrests dropped 78 percent. 

The city wanted to reduce police time spent on arrests and paperwork, as well as the number of young people with criminal records, so City Council passed a bill a month ago replacing arrest with a $25 fine for possession under 30 grams and $100 fine for lighting up in public. Philly.com reported that police have given out 20 tickets altogether since that decision, while arresting 72 people for marijuana-related crimes. Last year in the month between Oct. 20 and Nov. 20, police arrested more than 300. 

Before decriminalization, Pennsylvania's marijuana arrests had risen 23 percent in a decade. While Black and white Americans use marijuana at the same rates, young Black and Latino men are disproportionately arrested for possession. According to the ACLU, a Latino individual is more than twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, and a Black individual is five times more likely. In Philadelphia, 82 percent of the people arrested for marijuana are Black.

An arrest means an arrest record, which often limits opportunities in jobs, schooling and military service. Although the city has passed legislation like "ban the box" that asks a job applicant to describe convictions, the law is often not enforced.