Deadline Looms: Nutter Must Decide on Weed

After a summer of waiting, we should find out this week whether Mayor Nutter will sign a City Council bill that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of weed.

Although he’s sounded less strident on the issue in recent days, it appears the mayor is still searching for a path to veto the bill — which, not incidentally, passed the Council with a veto-proof 13-3 majority.

CBS Philly suggests the mayor wants to propose an alternative:

Nutter will not yet say how he will deal with the measure, but he hints at some sort of formal announcement of policy changes.

“When its all in a complete package — a holistic response that is consistent in nature — I’d like to lay all of those elements at one time,” says the mayor. “That’s what I’ve been working on. And when I’m ready, I’ll certainly make an announcement.”

But Councilman Jim Kenney, who sponsored the decriminalization bill, said he’d work to override any veto Nutter tries to adopt. “I don’t see anyone changing their vote,” he said.