Sentences with phrase «prosecute marijuana»

There is also a federal appropriations bill which prohibits expenditure of federal funds to prosecute marijuana crimes which are legal under state law, although these bills only last a year at a time.

Some prosecutors» offices also announced changes, including the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which won't prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases as of Aug....

NEW YORK, NY — Starting Aug. 1 the Manhattan District Attorney's office will decline to prosecute marijuana possession and use cases, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., announced Tuesday.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office will no longer prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases, with limited exceptions that might pose a threat to public safety beginning in August, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. announced on May 15.

You see, each and every year, Congress has to reapprove the Rohrabacher - Blumenauer Amendment (previously known as Rohrabacher - Farr), which is the amendment that disallows the Justice Department from using federal dollars to prosecute marijuana companies operating in states that have chosen to legalize in some capacity.

Sessions provided no details other than saying individual U.S. attorneys are authorized to prosecute marijuana operators as they choose.

While a judge might not choose to prosecute a marijuana business for growing or selling, he or she could choose to do so.

The «Cole memo» advised federal attorneys that they should largely defer to state and local authorities when it came to prosecuting marijuana - related activities.

Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon is not on board with the push from Manhattan and Brooklyn to stop prosecuting marijuana smokers, sounding a note of caution and saying the issue should be left up to the state Legislature.

Not exact matches

Seattle's attempt to rebalance those scales, at least in a minor way, follows a February move by Philadelphia to stop criminally prosecuting low - level marijuana offenses.

A May letter from Sessions to Congressional leaders asking them to let him prosecute medical marijuana surfaced just this week.

Even cities in red states, where until recently marijuana legalization appeared to have very little support, are passing laws to make sure fewer people are prosecuted for weed - related violations.

Meanwhile, marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recently taken steps that would allow federal prosecutors in states where weed is legal to decide whether to prosecute people over marijuana sales in a development that could threaten the burgeoning industry (or, at the very least, spur litigation from some of the states in question looking to keep the federal government from interfering with statewide legislation).

In a recent court case, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Department of Justice is prohibited from using federal funds to prosecute businesses who operate within state laws regarding medical marijuana.

Even so, much remains open to interpretation, but Sessions made it clear that he is not ruling out prosecuting people who violate federal law, even if they are in compliance with their state's laws in regard to medical marijuana.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made no secret of his contempt for marijuana use, and his Department of Justice is on the verge of releasing a report that many in the burgeoning legal cannabis industry fear will propose prosecuting people engaging in marijuana sales — even if they are in states that have legalized the drug locally.

Moen noted Sessions» action doesn't change federal law, which includes a congressional provision barring authorities from spending federal money to prosecute medical marijuana operations that abide by state laws.

The Official Opposition NDP supports decriminalization, such that the sale of marijuana isn't fully legalized but consumers aren't criminally prosecuted.

When Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo on marijuana to federal prosectors Thursday, reiterating their leeway to prosecute federal marijuana laws as they see fit, regardless of whether the plant is legal under state and local law, he likely spurred future infringements on liberty, struck a blow against federalism, and defied public opinion.

Faced with fresh evidence of the racial disparity in marijuana enforcement across New York City, Manhattan's district attorney said he will largely stop prosecuting people for possessing or smoking marijuana.

In 2014, late - Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said the office would no longer prosecute most first - time offenders arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office would work with the police and the mayor's office to pinpoint the «the very small number» of marijuana - possession cases that should be prosecuted because of public safety concerns.

NEW YORK (AP)-- Faced with fresh evidence of the racial disparity in marijuana enforcement across New York City, Manhattan's district attorney said Tuesday he will largely stop prosecuting people for possessing or smoking marijuana.

Another issue raised by @user4012 in the comments is that (some) people break law if chance of prosecuting is small, like jaywalking or smoking marijuana.

Since the late Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson announced that he would decline to prosecute some cases involving marijuana charges in 2014, the number of weed - related convictions has dropped about 75 percent in Brooklyn, according to the DA's Office.

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

His successor, Ken Thompson, a fellow Democrat, announced in 2014 that the office would stop prosecuting most low - level marijuana cases.

Gonzalez said that any cases where the use of marijuana does not create a «public nuisance» will not be prosecuted.

Besides vacating a number of Mr. Hynes» controversial convictions, he announced that he would stop prosecuting low - level marijuana offenders months before Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Bratton declared that they would stop arresting them.

Manhattan's District Attorney Cyrus Vance says his office will largely stop prosecuting people for possessing or smoking marijuana starting Aug. 1.

The first African American District Attorney in the borough's history, Thompson made headlines in 2014 when he stopped prosecuting low - level marijuana offenses.

The Brooklyn district attorney's office in 2014 defied the Police Department and decided to stop prosecuting some low - level marijuana cases, but carved out exceptions for people accused of smoking in public or who had criminal records.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance joined Errol Louis to discuss his new position against prosecuting low - level marijuana offenses.

The Brooklyn district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, said that over the last three months his office had doubled the number of marijuana smoking cases it had stopped prosecuting and that it now planned to start throwing out more cases after the Police Department weighed in.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez also said Tuesday that his office would stop prosecuting most cases of marijuana smoking.

The district attorneys of Manhattan and Brooklyn are considering no longer prosecuting the vast majority of people arrested on marijuana charges.

The district attorney of New York City's borough of Manhattan says he will stop prosecuting low - level marijuana cases.

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced earlier this year that he would stop prosecuting certain low - level marijuana arrest cases.

Senator Klein's proposed legislation would better equip law enforcement and district attorneys in New York with the tools they need to prosecute and enforce the illegal sale of synthetic marijuana.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said he would stop prosecuting cases of marijuana possession and smoking in public.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced Tuesday that his office would no longer prosecute any low - level marijuana offenses, including smoking in public.

Later in the afternoon, Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance announced his office would no longer prosecute most marijuana arrests, beginning August 1, a move that he estimated will reduce the number of marijuana - related prosecutions in Manhattan from 5,000 to 200.

The Brooklyn district attorney announced Tuesday that he will stop prosecuting low - level marijuana cases — but the NYPD responded that cops will continue cuffing Brooklyn pot smokers just as they...

Thompson was an advocate of gun control, exonerated over a dozen people who were wrongfully convicted and stopped prosecuting most low - level marijuana offenses.

Schumer's bill would continue to allow the federal government to prosecute trafficking of marijuana to states where it remained illegal.

The NYPD's shift comes after Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson announced this summer he would not prosecute minor marijuana offenses — something Mr. Bratton said at the time would have no effect on citywide marijuana policies.

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.

Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez already declines to prosecute many marijuana cases, and said Tuesday he will expand his policy in the coming weeks.

In 2014, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced he would no longer prosecute low - level marijuana crimes.

Among them, he added, were key reforms that defined Mr. Thompson's tenure: a warrant amnesty program, a policy not to prosecute some low - level marijuana offenses and a special unit devoted to wrongful convictions.