Philly.com has a pretty interesting article today about how marijuana has been effectively decriminalized in Philadelphia, but arrests are actually increasing in the suburbs. The article includes a chart that shows marijuana arrests in various suburbs for 2016 and 2017 and Plymouth Township’s arrests for marijuana grew by 500% (seven arrests in 2016 to 42 in 2017) between those years.

Note that the chart only shows places where there were 25 or more arrests for marijuana in 2017. Conshohocken, Whitemarsh and West Conshohocken did not appear on the chart.

The article tells the story of a Philadelphia man who was arrested while driving through Plymouth Township when he was found to have marijuana in his car. Its not the perfect example, because police claimed they could smell it while driving behind him (it is not clear if he smoking it while driving). So its not like he was pulled over for a broken tail late and they arrested him for having marijuana on him.

The possible reason for the jump in arrests in Plymouth Township provided by Police Chief Joseph Lawrence is also interesting. In the article he is quoted as saying:

“I have some younger officers, they’re a little bit more aggressive when they’re younger,” Lawrence said. “They want to get their hands dirty. A lot of times you start with pot and it grows to something bigger.”

You can read the full article here.