Sentences with phrase «level marijuana possession»

The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said that half of the 6,200 people who were charged with low - level marijuana possession last year in Manhattan had never been arrested before.

«Some of our police officers are making race - based discretionary decisions on who they're going to arrest for low - level marijuana possession,» said Leroy Gadsden, the president of a branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Jamaica, Queens, and the chairman of the criminal justice committee for the statewide N.A.A.C.P. «Therefore, of course, if you're a young, black male, even a female, you're going to feel that you're being targeted when you notice that your white counterparts are not being arrested for the same thing.»

At a City Council hearing on Monday, Queens Councilman Rory Lancman, chairman of the Committee on Justice Systems, asked the city's five district attorneys to decline to prosecute individuals who are arrested for low - level marijuana possession for misdemeanors.

At the press conference, they called for individuals to receive summonses for low - level marijuana possession instead of being arrested.

«Too many New Yorkers without any prior convictions have been arrested for low - level marijuana possession.

NYC arrested 16,925 people last year for low - level marijuana possession and smoking in public, a decline of only 1 percentage point from the previous year's total of 17,097, even though de Blasio said he would cut down on arrests.

Even the city's liberal Democrat mayor, who has pushed policing reforms including the decrease in criminal arrests of low - level marijuana possession, is opposed the policy shift.

Last year, 86 percent of those arrested for low - level marijuana possession were black and Hispanic.

Advocates have noted legalization would address the issue of low - level marijuana possession arrests, which disproportionately affect communities of color, particularly in New York.

In 2014, Thompson began what the DA's office called a groundbreaking policy not to prosecute low - level marijuana possession arrests.

He said the city also established policies like eliminating arrests for low - level marijuana possession, saying that arrests in many cases are a last resort.

Not exact matches

The group also is seeking the legalization of marijuana, saying the prosecutions and convictions of low - level pot possession can harm a person's future chances for a good job.

There were 17,880 arrests in NYC last year for which the most serious charge was low - level misdemeanor marijuana possession, according to the state Department of Criminal Justice Services.

But it does not turn over individuals arrested for low - level crimes such as possession of small amount of marijuana or blowing a stoplight without damaging people or property, or even for more serious nonviolent violations like money laundering, grand larceny or harassment.

However, Cuomo's executive budget plan proposes decriminalizing low - level possession of marijuana.

The vast majority of people who are arrested for marijuana possession are of color, while usage of whites is largely at comparable levels, Nixon said.

Marijuana remains illegal in New York, though possession of small amounts has been reduced to a low - level violation subject to a fine.

Gabriel Sayegh, New York state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said 50,683 people in the city were arrested for the lowest level of marijuana possession in 2011.

The group is also seeking the legalization of marijuana, saying the prosecutions and convictions of low level pot possession can harm a person's future chances for a good job.

The report outlines a series of first steps, including holding fewer people on bail; expanding diversion programs for drug offenders and those with mental illness; and changing state law to treat some low - level offenses — like fare - beating, marijuana possession in public view, prostitution and possession of so - called gravity knives — as civil rather than criminal matters.

«Society does want to discourage the use of marijuana in public» Cuomo said «Smoking a joint is, I think, a different level of activity than just being in possession of it.»

According to 2017 statistics compiled by the state, blacks accounted for 48 percent of arrests in New York City for the lowest level of marijuana possession, while Latinos accounted for 38 percent, compared to 9 percent for whites.

He also said that NYPD reduced marijuana arrests by about 38,000 since four years ago and that the city stopped arresting people for low - level possession.

New Yorkers will no longer necessarily be arrested for low - level marijuana offenses, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner Bill Bratton said today, announcing that in many cases of possession of the drug, police can write a summons instead.

One example is the law passed by Congress 21 USC 841 which prohibits production, sale or possession of marijuana: prosecutions have been suspended at the federal level by executive - branch decision, in certain states (Washington, Colorado, others no doubt).

Whether a client is charged with first degree murder, domestic assault, sexual assault, or possession of marijuana, we approach every case with the same level of resolve.