NEW YORK—Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proposed legislation Monday that would make possession of “small amounts of marijuana,” or 25 grams or less, an offense incurring a fine rather than a criminal offense.
“There’s a blatant inconsistency—if you possess marijuana privately it’s a violation, if you show it in public it’s a crime,” said Cuomo during a live feed from Albany. “It’s incongruous.” Currently, possession of 25 grams or less of the drug in a private setting results in a fine. The proposed law change would align the public and private punishments, but smoking marijuana would still be a criminal act, Cuomo said.
Although the proposed change would affect the entire state, it primarily affects New York City where 94 percent of marijuana possession arrests in the state take place. Controversy over the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk method, which had police officers ordering those stopped to turn out their pockets—turning a fine into a crime—had a big role to play in the proposal.
Of those arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana, 82 percent were either black or Latino, while less than 10 percent were ultimately convicted of a crime, according to the governor’s office. A misdemeanor on one’s record can affect a youth’s chances of getting a job, going to college, and getting financial aid.
The NYPD released an operations order last fall saying that officers could no longer charge defendants “if the marijuana recovered was disclosed to public view at an officer’s direction,” but critics often complained that this order wasn’t being followed. NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said at the press conference that when he was asked about the situation at recent City Council hearings, he told them: “Your option is to go to Albany and get the law changed. Better that than having New York police officers turn a blind eye to the law as it is written.”
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said at the press conference that the rule change will allow his office and the NYPD to “focus our resources on the most serious problems,” especially violent criminals and criminal organizations.
According to Kelly, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg supports the proposed legislation.
Gov. Cuomo said he hasn’t exactly figured out yet what penal law changes will be needed to shift the policy.
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