Youngsville will consider an ordinance to regulate the possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the borough limits.

The move is the result of the Warren County District Attorney Rob Greene’s decision to take a soft stance on those minor drug offenses.

The proposal would see borough police officers charge those offenses as non-traffic citations rather than as a misdemeanor that would be prosecuted by the DA’s office.

Youngsville Police Chief Todd Mineweaser said the borough “should really consider” enacting such an ordinance, citing State College, Erie and Meadville as other municipalities that have taken the step.

He said that officers are “spending a lot of time in court” for cases that “usually get dismissed or dropped to something else.”

The non-traffic citation process, he added, is easier for the officers and more of the fine amount comes back to the borough than with a misdemeanor conviction.

Mineweaser said the ordinance he envisions would have a set fine for these offenses.

He told the Times Observer after the meeting that officers take an oath to enforce the law.

“To me, we’re still doing our job,” he said, noting that they have to file the charges. “This will be for our welfare, the health of our public.”

He added that, should marijuana become recreationally legal, an ordinance could still be enforced to keep it out of the borough’s parks and off the streets, similar to alcohol.

“We just want to get ahead of it,” he said. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Mayor Scott Nelson asked Mineweaser to present a draft ordinance at a future meeting.

“We’ll work on it,” Mineweaser said, and “come up with a good solution.

“Our guys get really frustrated with the time and effort they put in,” Mineweaser added. “When (they) seize evidence, we can’t just throw it out. Our guys are wasting time.”

District Attorney Greene’s office has taken a very lenient approach to the prosecution of low-level marijuana possession offenses.

In a January interview, Greene didn’t disagree with that assertion but argued that it is a position in line with many of his colleagues across the state.

“A lot of district attorneys handle marijuana convictions similarly and do take a lenient approach,” he said. “I could very easily take a hard line…. The law by statute gives me the authority to use prosecutorial discretion.”