Pittsburgh police on Friday arrested a Beechview man after they said they found a duffel bag full of marijuana in a truck he was driving in the Windgap neighborhood.

Public Safety Spokeswoman Sonya Toler said Zone 6 officers were checking reports of a suspicious vehicle about 7:30 p.m. near Chartiers Avenue and Mayfair Street when they located the truck with two men inside and a noticeable smell of marijuana.

The truck's occupants consented to a search and the officers found the driver, Garfield Campbell, 40, of Beechview had a small plastic baggie of marijuana in his pants pocket and $2,050 in cash; in the back of the truck was a black gym bag containing 19 large plastic bags full of marijuana.

• Christopher Mark Heath was stopped in his car after driving from California
• He was found to have 247 pounds of marijuana in the car worth $2million 
• Heath, 37, is a drugs task force police officer working in Yuba County 
• He and two alleged accomplices are now facing drug dealing charges

A drugs task force officer has been arrested after being caught in a £2million marijuana bust.

Christopher Mark Heath, 37, was stopped alongside two other alleged drug traffickers after police found 247 pounds of marijuana in their car along with $11,000 in cash.

Pittsburgh may be ready to decriminalize marijuana for recreational use, but a new survey suggests local physicians hold widely varying views when it comes to their willingness to prescribe marijuana for medical use, even if it were legal.

Of the 97 physicians responding to a recent Allegheny County Medical Society survey about half said they would prescribe and half said they wouldn’t, although some who opposed noted that prescribing marijuana would not apply to their specialty.

“More research is required,” one unidentified physician wrote in comments attached to the survey.

“It is utterly ridiculous to do anything other than legalizing and regulating it like we do alcohol and cigarettes,” said another who supports legalizing medical marijuana use.

Pittsburgh City Council is ending its 2015 legislative session on a high note, having voted Monday morning to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana within city limits.

Council voted 7-2 in favor of a bill, sponsored by Councilman Daniel Lavelle, that allows police to levy a fine of up to $100 against anyone possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish. In the case of minors, parents or guardians will be notified of the offense and must pay the fine.

Supporters say that’s better than charging suspects with a misdemeanor criminal offense, which can saddle defendants with a potentially job-killing rap sheet and burden police with paperwork.

If a movement opposed to decriminalizing marijuana in Pittsburgh exists, its followers did not choose to speak at a public forum Tuesday afternoon in City Council chambers.

Instead, about 40 citizens told council members why they should vote to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, citing concerns about racial disparity in arrests, complications of having a criminal record and the right to self-medicate.

“I'm a homeowner. I'm a taxpayer. I've also been a criminal for about 40 years,” said Michael Keenan, 58, of Spring Hill. “I am tired of being a criminal over a plant.”

"Medical cannabis has high POTential," according to a new report.

The investment arm of Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, sent out a 45 page equity report last week focused on prospects related to marijuana.

Carefully researched, it was an interesting peek at how heavy hitters on Wall Street are starting to view the expanding industry. The document is not publicly available. It was leaked to this writer by an individual who received the report as a member and investor.

“It will really help a lot of young men and women’s lives from being destroyed.”

Most people can come up with a slew of reasons to decriminalize or even legalize marijuana: It has proven medicinal benefits; it consistently accounts for fewer deaths annually than alcohol consumption; and many believe minorities are disproportionately persecuted for its possession.

But another case for decriminalizing marijuana is that it can reduce the strain on city resources by freeing up law-enforcement officials to focus on violent crimes, and also free up court resources by reducing the number of individuals circulating through the criminal justice system.

Greenhouse Ventures hosts its first Demo Day Dec. 5

With the cannabis industry booming in states like Colorado, Washington and California, it may be surprising that a new startup has decided to take root in Philadelphia. While marijuana laws are certainly more relaxed in the city thanks to legislation decriminalizing small amounts of weed, Pennsylvania is hardly a bastion of progressive thought when it comes to marijuana legislation. But that could change with the introduction of Greenhouse Ventures’ first Demo Day on Dec. 5. 

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A bill to legalize medical marijuana was scheduled for a House vote Monday, but the vote has been pulled from the schedule.

Sources told ABC 27 an amendment is expected to be introduced that would “water” down Senate Bill 3 by putting caps on THC and the cannabis plant.

A rally will be held in the Capitol Rotunda at noon. A family who lost their child to Dravet syndrome, a severe seizure disorder, will speak. They believe their child would still be alive if medical cannabis was legal in Pennsylvania.

Those in favor of medical cannabis have been using the battle cry “Still sick, still waiting.”

On some of the worst nights, Dana Ulrich lies in bed with 8-year-old Lorelei and waits for her breath to return.

With her ear and hand pressed against her daughter’s chest, she listens hoping the epileptic seizures that often number in the hundreds each day will subside. It has been this way for close to six years, and medications have done little to ebb the tide of symptoms associated with her condition, primary generalized intractable epilepsy.

It's what brought Dana and Lorelei together with family, friends and other advocates to Lions Park along the Bristol waterfront Saturday afternoon for a rally to support the ongoing fight to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.