SAM To The Rescue

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In Philadelphia SAM stands for the Small Amount of Marijuana program. If you're arrested possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana, you are charged with a summary offense rather than a misdemeanor and must attend - and pay $200 for - a three-hour class about drug abuse. You leave the program without having a criminal record. and their record is expunged. With a misdemeanor conviction, you could spend up to thirty days in jail and pay a $500 fine; and maybe even hire a lawyer.

Those arrested make out better. And the city makes out better in that its costs are lowered substantially. Because there is no trial, there is no need for a judge, a court-appointed defense attorney, a prosecutor, lab tests to confirm the "leafy green substance" is actually marijuana, or cops getting paid overtime to testify. It is estimated that Philadelphia saved $2,000,000 in the last year.