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Area political pundits: Race is close, but it’s Clinton’s to lose

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Susquehanna County filmmaker Kerry Patton releases ‘Dark of Light’ this fall

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Area residents hoping to see marijuana legalized &#8212; either for medical purposes or recreational use &#8212; will gather in Kirby Park on Saturday.</p><p>The Keystone Cannabis Coalition and the Northeastern Pennsylvanian Cannabis Network will host the third annual &#8220;Wilkes-Barre Cannabis Freedom Rally&#8221; from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the park. The organizations will be out in full force with vendors, speakers and entertainment pertaining to the drug.</p><p>Event organizers say they are hoping to educate the public on both medical and recreational marijuana and call on Luzerne County and Wilkes-Barre to decriminalize the drug.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s going to be lots of educational materials available,&#8221; event organizer Jeff Zick said.</p><p>Zick said the event will host &#8220;knowledgeable speakers&#8221; as well as informational booths, entertainment and vendors. In the past, the event has drawn hundreds.</p><p>The difference this year, Les Stark, of the Keystone Cannabis Coalition, said is that Pennsylvania has already passed a medical marijuana bill, and cities such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have already decriminalized the drug, making possession of less than one ounce a summary offense, resulting in a fine.</p><p>While legislation involving marijuana has evolved over the past few years, it&#8217;s still a &#8220;long, hard fight,&#8221; Zick said.</p><p>&#8220;We celebrate how far we&#8217;ve come,&#8221; Stark said. &#8220;But we are not satisfied.&#8221;</p><p>Stark said he hopes to continue conversations of decriminalization in the city.</p><p>&#8220;What we want to do is help stir that conversation,&#8221; he said.</p><p>In May, the <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/547047/citizens-push-for-marijuana-decriminalization-in-luzerne-county" target="_blank">Times Leader reported</a> residents pushed Luzerne County officials to decriminalize the drug in a similar way bigger cities have. Wilkes-Barre has moved possession of marijuana paraphernalia to a summary offense from a misdemeanor, and Stark believes decriminalizing small amounts of the drug is the next step.</p><p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t have to wait for the state,&#8221; Stark said.</p><p>The Wilkes-Barre rally is a group effort, Zick said, with multiple pro-cannabis organizations coming together.</p><p>&#8220;We all team up,&#8221; Zick said.</p><p>The two organizations hold rallies across the state and work in municipalities to help residents push borough councils to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana.</p><p>&#8220;The call is being heard around Pennsylvania,&#8221; Stark said.</p><p>While the ultimate goal is for legalization of marijuana, Stark said he wants people to understand the organizations don&#8217;t want a &#8220;free for all.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We promote responsible use,&#8221; Stark said.</p><p>Along with legalization, Stark said they want to see taxation and regulation similar to what is done in states such as Colorado and Washington that have already legalized recreational use.</p><p>&#8220;We believe in law and order and public health,&#8221; Stark said.</p><p>While both groups support the legalization of marijuana, Stark said there will be no use of the drug at Saturday&#8217;s event.</p><p>Last year, Stark said he predicted medical marijuana would be legalized by the time of the Wilkes-Barre rally this year. He had a similar prediction for next October.</p><p>&#8220;In about a year, we will have decriminalization,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The first cannabis reform rally in Wilkes-Barre was held at Kirby Park in 2014. Saturday&#8217;s event will be the third annual rally. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL092814cannabisrally_jom_2.jpg</photo0><caption0>The first cannabis reform rally in Wilkes-Barre was held at Kirby Park in 2014. Saturday&#8217;s event will be the third annual rally. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Brigid Edmunds</p><p>bedmunds@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Brigid Edmunds at 570-991-6119 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Cannabis rally set for Kirby Park on Saturday