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Cuomo: Let's Decriminalize Small Amounts Of Pot, Man
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 4, 2012
Modified Jun 4, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 4, 2012
Modified Jun 4, 2012
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Andrew Cuomo may not be high on medical marijuana, but he doesn't necessarily seem to have a problem with a bit of bud. In an attempt to help fix the Bloomberg administration's stop-and-frisk problem the Times reports that the Governor today is going to call for the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view. Between gay marriage, gambling, and ganja Andrew Cuomo is really gunning for the title of New York's Great Legalizer, eh?
More than a dozen states have already decriminalized possession of a small amount of weed (Connecticut, which just legalized medical marijuana, did so last year). In fact, since 1977, marijuana possession in New York has already been decriminalized for amounts of 25 grams or less, as long as it is not in public view. The push from Cuomo would make public view okay too, and just in time. NYC holds the title as the marijuana arrest capital of the world with 50,680 arrests in 2011, many of which are for small amounts of the drug found when pockets are emptied during stop-and-frisks.
What Cuomo is working for would not necessarily stop the stop-and-frisks but it would help keep drug arrests off of otherwise innocent people's records. But be clear, he isn't exactly looking to legalize low levels of weed in public view, just downgrade it to a violation while still classifying smoking the stuff as a misdemeanor—unlike a separate bill currently in Albany from Assemblyman Hakeen Jeffries and State Seantor Mark Grisanti.
Cuomo's move comes as Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was forced to remind his officers last fall about what is and isn't legal when it comes to marijuana possession (not that it did much). He's is expected to announce support for the change at a news conference later today. “This proposal will bring long overdue consistency and fairness to New York State’s Penal Law and save thousands of New Yorkers, particularly minority youth, from the unnecessary and life-altering trauma of a criminal arrest and, in some cases, prosecution," a Cuomo official told the Times.
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