York County, PA Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

A(2) of the York County Code bars selling, using, transporting or possessing any drug or narcotic prohibited by state or federal law while inside the park system, and A(4) separately outlaws growing illegal or controlled plants, naming marijuana as the example, on county park land. Because the section incorporates state and federal drug law by reference, the list of prohibited substances tracks whatever Pennsylvania's Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act and federal law classify as illegal at the time, including marijuana, which remains a Schedule I controlled substance under both bodies of law.

Subsection C's alcohol exception for Director-approved events does not reach drugs; there is no permit path around A(2) or A(4). Enforcement runs through §§ 75-38 and 75-39C: York County Park Rangers are cross-designated to enforce the Pennsylvania Crimes Code and the Drug, Device, Controlled Substance and Cosmetic Act within the park system, not just the county's own park rules, and may arrest and detain a suspected violator on view. Items connected to a violation, including any grown plants, are subject to confiscation under § 75-39I.

A conviction for the park-code violation itself is a summary offense under § 75-39A, fined $75 to $800 plus costs and restitution and punishable by up to 30 days in jail, separate from and in addition to any charge Rangers file directly under the state Crimes Code or Drug Act for the underlying possession or cultivation.