Philadelphia Bill No. 060345, colloquially known as the Philadelphia blunt ban, was an ordinance in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

which banned the retail sale of cigarettes or

cigars A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder le ...

sold one or two at a time,

rolling paper Rolling paper is a specialty paper used for making cigarettes (commercially manufactured filter cigarettes and individually made roll-your-own cigarettes). Rolling papers are packs of several cigarette-size sheets, often folded inside a cardbo ...

s, flavored

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

products, and drug consumption and packaging paraphernalia such as water pipes, roach clips, and bongs. It was an amendment to Chapter 9-600, the "Service Businesses" section, of the Philadelphia Code. It has since been overturned by court decree.

Passage

The ban was the result of a campaign by Philadelphia police officer and community activist Jerry Rocks, Sr. Rocks's campaign, begun in October 2005, sought to restrict or prohibit convenience stores from selling the types of items eventually covered by the ordinance. Rocks targeted his campaign particularly at Sunoco and Wawa Food Markets. Councilman Brian J. O'Neill sponsored the bill, introducing it into the Philadelphia City Council in May 2006. It was passed unanimously by the Council and signed into law by Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street on January 23, 2007, with immediate effect.

Invalidation

In 2008, the Commonwealth Court held that the ban was partially preempted by the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, 35 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 780-101-780-144. On January 19, 2011, in ''Holt's Cigar Co. v. Solvibile'', the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...

reversed the Commonwealth Court's decision in part, holding that the entirety of the ban was preempted by the Controlled Substance Act.

Passage

Invalidation

References

Further reading