New York City and marijuana have a strange relationship. As Dave Chapelle's character Thurgood Jenkins famously said in the movie Half Baked, "I mean, they might call it 'The City that Never Sleeps,' but I'll tell you this: it takes a lot of [effin] weed naps."
And that's about all the proof you need to know that NYC loves ganja. Maybe that and a convenient reminder that the first medical marijuana dispensary will arrive in NYC in less than a couple months (January 2016).
The latest good news is that marijuana possession arrest numbers are in and it's looking a lot better than last year.
From the beginning of 2015 through October 20th, 18,120 people were arrested for marijuana possession, down 40% from the same time period last year.
While possession of up to 25 grams of weed has been decriminalized in New York State since the 70s, NYPD officers kept arresting people-- especially people with less money and darker skin --for decades until Mayor de Blasio promised to put an end to it with measures like ending stop-and-frisk.
And we've come a long way towards making that a reality, though not all the way just yet.
Even though NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton recently caught a young woman smoking pot on the street (which is still 100% illegal) and just issued a verbal warning after throwing out her joint, we're still not there yet.
[anad]
While it's decriminalized to carry up to 25 grams of weed, it's still illegal to bring that weed into the public view. Often when police ask people to empty their pockets, they comply.
If you're carrying reefer, and it's in public view, you can be arrested, even if it's only because the officer asked you to empty your pockets.
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Last year, 29,906 people were arrested for marijuana possession. This year however, while the number of arrests is under 20,000, and the number of tickets (usually $100 fine) has gone way up, that's still close to 20,000 more people than should be getting arrested for this.
Yes, more tickets are being issued and less arrests are being made for just weed, but isn't it supposed to be zero?
Check out 8 Ways to Travel Like a Real New Yorker This Holiday Season.
[via NY Post] [Feature Image Courtesy Impacto New York]