Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Cuomo Signs Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 29, 2019
Modified Jul 29, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
David "Dee" Delgado / Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 29, 2019
Modified Jul 29, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that makes any kind of marijuana possession under two ounces a civil, not a criminal offense, and automatically expunges low-level possession charges from New Yorkers' records.
The bill, passed by the state legislature last month after legalization efforts collapsed, makes marijuana possession under one ounce a $50 fine; between one and two ounces, the penalty is $200. The fine for smoking marijuana in public falls under the second of the two offenses. Both offenses are levied regardless of criminal history. The bill will become law in 30 days.
New York State actually decriminalized marijuana in "public view" in 1977, but that did not stop the NYPD and police departments across the state from making around 900,000 low-level marijuana arrests over that time period, the overwhelming majority of them affecting people of color. The automatic expungement component of the bill the governor just signed means that in cases where low-level possession is the top charge, all traces of it will be wiped from the record. The State Division of Criminal Justice Services will be responsible for identifying and expunging the records.
"It is significant to have automatic expungement for the first time in New York State," Melissa Moore, the deputy state director for Drug Policy Alliance New York told Gothamist. But Moore said that the decriminalization bill falls short in ways that the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which would have legalized marijuana, did not.
"It doesn't deal with the ways in which housing and employment can be impacted by a marijuana arrest. It doesn't deal with the child welfare or family court implications, it doesn't deal with immigration consequences for people," Moore said.
"[Legislators] were working really quickly at the end of session, frankly, and unfortunately it shows," she added.
The lawmakers seemed to acknowledge as much.
"While this legislation falls short of the goal of legalization of adult-use cannabis, the ability to create a mechanism for expungement, both retroactively and forward-looking, is a step in the right direction in finally ending the heavy-handed war on drugs that has decimated communities of color," State Senator Jamaal Bailey said in a release after the bill's passage.
In his own release, Cuomo called the decriminalization bill "a critical step forward in addressing a broken and discriminatory criminal justice process."
While 30 State Senators supported a last minute legalization bill—two shy of the amount necessary to pass it—representatives from Long Island, Westchester, and parts of New York City were skeptical enough to kill it.
"The Senate Democratic Majority will continue our efforts for full legalization and regulation of marijuana," Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a statement. "And today's decriminalization is a good first step."
Tagged
decriminalization
marijuana
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.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
How NYC voters could determine outcome of race for governor
The Democratic governor got a startling lesson four years ago in the importance of turnout in New York City.
By
Jon Campbell
Published Oct 29, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
Early Addition: Is the Cheesecake Factory vs. the Amtrak buttercake our new culture war?
Because they're raving about the little cake you can only get in first class on select trains, here are your early links: Hunting for Bigfoot is big in New Jersey, the East Village got a kitschy wedding chapel, "Slime Square-42 St," and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: Is the Cheesecake Factory vs. the Amtrak buttercake our new culture war?
Because they're raving about the little cake you can only get in first class on select trains, here are your early links: Hunting for Bigfoot is big in New Jersey, the East Village got a kitschy wedding chapel, "Slime Square-42 St," and more.
By
James Ramsay
Brooklyn woman hit and killed by garbage truck at Bay Parkway, NYPD says
By
Ryan Kost
NY's housing crisis is on the ballot. Here's what the candidates say they'll do about it.
By
David Brand
Brooklyn's Ocean Parkway is a haven for reckless driving. Mamdani isn't allowed to fix it.
By
Stephen Nessen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .