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12/8/2011 – New York City has the distinction of performing more marijuana arrests than anywhere else in the country; over 50,000 each year. This is almost double the annual arrests in the entire state of New Jersey and flies in the face of a New York State decriminalization law passed in 1979.
Reuter’s news service and WNYC are reporting this week that NYC Police said that arrests have dropped since September when Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly addressed the issue within the department. Kelly’s move followed intense media coverage of the racial disparity to the arrests (more than 90% are men of color) and the overly-harsh consequences of a pot arrest such as loss of parental rights.
New York City police made 1,190 fewer marijuana arrests since Commissioner Raymond Kelly’s September 19 directive, compared to the same nine-week period a year ago, spokesman Paul Browne said.
A coalition of groups that has criticized the police force for its aggressive approach to marijuana possession called the numbers a “disappointing drop” and said New York City remains the “marijuana arrest capital of the world.”
“Unfortunately, these figures are cause for outrage, not celebration,” Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance said in a statement. “In this economy, Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD are wasting millions of tax dollars by using illegal searches and false charges to sweep tens of thousands of black and Latino youth into the criminal justice system.” read more
WNYC reveals that serious issues continue with marijuana prohibition enforcement in the Big Apple:
“We are still seeing on a daily basis cases where our clients are being arrested and charged with misdemeanors where according to them, they never possessed marijuana in public view,” said Scott Levy, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders. “They possessed it in their pocket, in their clothing.” read more
New York State legislators also took a strong step in June to bring New York City in line with the state’s existing marijuana decriminalization policy. The new bill, SB5187/AB7620, remains active in Albany.
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]