There has been a substantial decline in marijuana-related arrests in New York City.
In a four-year span, marijuana arrests have dropped 67%. In 2015 alone, arrests were down 42% from the previous year.
NYPD Commissioner, Bill Bratton, may not be a fan of this trend. On a radio recent broadcast, he claimed marijuana was responsible for the “vast majority” of NYC’s violence. “Interestingly enough, here in New York City most of the violence we see – violence around drug trafficking – is involving marijuana and I have to scratch my head as we are seeing many states wanting to legalize marijuana, and more liberalization of policies.” Bill Bratton said.
The drop in arrests started with the previous NYPD Commissioner, Ray Kelly, as residents wanted to see less incarcerations for non-violent crimes and an elimination of the “Stop and Frisk” tactics.
New York state was one of the first to decriminalize marijuana in the 1970s (possession under 25 is a civil citation and small fine). However, the law includes a “public view” statute. If someone is caught with non-concealed marijuana, the charges can escalate to a misdemeanor. Officers in NYC have been known to utilize the practice of “Stop and Frisk”, where they detain and question individuals if they have marijuana on them. Detainees are put in the position of either defying an officer’s order, or exposing marijuana to public view. Basically, in either scenario they are faced with a more severe charge than the civil citation. Many city residents and elected officials have opposed the policy especially as it has been applied to non-whites at a much higher rate.
New York State has passed a medical marijuana program and the momentum across the country seems to be going against tougher enforcement. It is unclear if Commissioner Bratton is considering lobbying for harsher penalties for marijuana possession. The commissioner’s comments may seem strange to some as he links marijuana violence to illegal trafficking while simultaneously advocating against government regulation.
