Bethlehem City Council Vice President Olga Negron wants her city to join others across Pennsylvania that have decriminalized marijuana.

But she knows Bethlehem's unique geography straddling two counties, which puts it under the jurisdiction of two different district attorneys, may make such a move challenging.

At Tuesday night's council meeting, Negron is putting forward a draft ordinance that would make possession of fewer than 30 grams of marijuana a summary offense that carries a small fine of $25 to $150.

The measure is modeled off ones enacted by other cities, like Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, and was drafted with the help of City Council Solicitor John Spirk Jr., Negron said Monday.

The ordinance is not up for a vote Tuesday; it is just being read aloud as a communication. Council can then refer the matter to committee for debate and vetting or put it on the agenda at a future meeting for first reading.

City Council President Adam Waldron said while the measure has broad council support, it is being sent to the public safety committee to hash out its legal intricacies.

Two counties, two DAs

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli has said since his 2016 run for attorney general that he supports statewide decriminalization of a small amount of marijuana. But Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin does not.

Martin provided lehighvalleylive.com a copy of a letter he sent to Mayor Bob Donchez on Monday outlining why Bethlehem cannot legally pass an ordinance that violates state law. He declined further comment.

"My position is that any local ordinance attempting to alter the penalties for the possession or use of a small amount of marijuana would be unconstitutional," Martin wrote.

If council adopts such an ordinance, as chief law enforcement officer of Lehigh County, Martin will instruct Bethlehem police officers in the county to follow state law and charge any violations under that law, Martin writes.

Under current state law, anyone convicted of the misdemeanor charge for possession of a small amount faces up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, plus a driver's license suspension. Possession of drug paraphernalia is punishable by a $2,500 fine and a year behind bars.

"Local municipalities are preempted from exercising power in an area where the state has sufficiently acted," Martin wrote in bold text in the letter to Donchez.

These opposing viewpoints could make things tricky for Bethlehem and the city's police department.

Police Chief Mark DiLuzio could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

The proposal gives police discretion to either treat possession of a small amount of marijuana as a summary offense and issue a ticket or follow current state law and charge someone with a misdemeanor, Waldron said.

Council will be interested in hearing Martin and DiLuzio's thoughts during the committee meeting process, he said.

"The whole idea of this was to give the police an extra tool and make their jobs easier, not make their jobs harder," Waldron said.

The statewide effort

A similar effort by Easton City Council failed earlier this year, but that council did pass a resolution urging the state to pass a law decriminalizing marijuana.

"I personally support decriminalization and I hope the state would do that sooner rather than later," Waldron said. "I think some local municipalities are frustrated at the process happening at the state level, so you are seeing local governments do it on their own. If you see 30 or 100 local municipalities get behind it, it is kind of a popular consensus and I think (state) representatives should pay attention to that."

Negron thinks Pennsylvania is moving closer to decriminalization and Bethlehem should show its support. The city's medical marijuana program is up and running -- she noted there's a dispensary in the city -- and there are two bills circulating in the state House of Representatives proposing statewide decriminalization, she said.

"I believe that the more municipalities in the Commonwealth that have such an ordinance it will help the state to make this happen," Negron said.

Under decriminalization, marijuana is still illegal, but the idea is to punish personal use with lesser penalties.

A conviction can jeopardize everything from housing to federal student loans to job opportunities, officials say.

Over 21 years working in the Lehigh Valley community, Negron has seen far too many young people's entire lives get off track over a stupid youthful indiscretion.

"It means that people get stuck," Negron said. "It is kind of like putting an 'X' on their forehead and now you are a criminal."

Councilman Bryan Callahan agrees and doesn't want to see a teen's college prospects jeopardized over a small amount of marijuana. It's something he's seen happen over his 25 years as a public school health and phys ed teacher.

"We're not talking about someone dealing kilos," Callahan said. "I'm anti-drugs because I am a health teacher."

But Callahan is a believer in the medical powers of marijuana after watching his late wife suffer from extreme nausea during her breast cancer treatments. She was wasting away unable to eat anything until a nurse suggested trying to obtain some marijuana, Callahan said.

A little bit of pot brought back her appetite and Callahan heard her laugh for the first time in months.

"It had been so long since I heard that beautiful laugh," Callahan said.

Both Callahan and Negron said too much money is expended prosecuting small marijuana cases without any real return.

"I just think that it should be legalized or at the very least decriminalized," Callahan said.

There are many greater, proven health risks to alcohol and tobacco, but they are both legal, regulated and heavily taxed by the government, Negron said.

"Marijuana is not addictive and harmful like alcohol and tobacco are," Negron said. "We could be getting a lot of revenue from it."

The proposed ordinance funnels any money it generates back to the city's parks and rec department for youth sports programs and to the police department for community engagement projects or events.

What it does

If enacted, the ordinance gives Bethlehem police the option of citing someone for possession or use of a small amount of marijuana or for possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

Citations carry fines of $25 to $150 depending on the number of violations.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.