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Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Assembly, But NYPD Won't Stop Arresting Minorities For Pot Possession
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 28, 2014
Modified May 28, 2014
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 28, 2014
Modified May 28, 2014
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A medical marijuana bill has just passed the State Assembly, and marijuana arrests have dropped slightly year-to-year since Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Bratton took over. But they still outnumber the amount of arrests made during the last months of the Bloomberg administration, and they still disproportionately affect young black and Hispanic men. "The new administration promised change, but instead we got more of the same," Congressman Hakeem Jeffries said at a decriminalization rally outside 1 Police Plaza yesterday.
Jeffries told the Huffington Post, "If Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Bratton continue to hold firm to a policy resulting in tens of thousands of individuals being arrested in an unjustified fashion, then I think we have to revive the discussion with the governor and state legislature about reforming the law in Albany."
Yet the law was reformed by Albany, in 1977. Since then, 25 grams or less of marijuana out of public view has been a violation carrying a $100 fine for a first-time offense. In September of 2011, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly reminded his officers to stop arresting those people who displayed it in public view on their order to empty their pockets. Rep. Jeffries wrote a letter to Commissioner Bratton asking him to direct his officers once again to stop making the costly, time-consuming, life-altering arrests, but Bratton said last week that decriminalization is "a major mistake and something I will never support."
Mayor de Blasio also seems confused about the difference between decriminalization and legalization.
"Commissioner Bratton in his testimony talks about a larger question of legalizing marijuana across the board, which he opposes and I agree with him on that," de Blasio told reporters yesterday when asked about the decriminalization rally. "I don’t think it makes sense to [go to] full-scale legalization."
Aside from State Senator Liz Krueger, no one is asking for "full-scale legalization"—Jeffries and others are merely asking that the NYPD better enforce the law that has existed for nearly 40 years. In 2014, 86% of those arrested for marijuana offenses were black and Hispanic.
Mayoral spokesman Phil Walzak has not responded to a request to clarify the mayor's comments.
The medical marijuana bill has until June 19th to be taken up and voted on by the Republican-controlled State Senate, where the bill has bipartisan support but passage is far from certain.
Though Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson has said he would stop prosecuting low-level marijuana arrests, Governor Cuomo has indicated that he is no longer interested in halting them statewide.
Human Rights Watch analyst Brain Root told the Voice yesterday, "These marijuana arrests are human rights violations. These are violations of the right to autonomy and the right to privacy."
Tagged
decriminalization
marijuana
medical marijuana
war on drugs
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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