Brooklyn Stopping Prosecution for Low-Level Marijuana Offenses

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Summary

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson has announced a stop to prosecution for low-level marijuana offenses. Arrests for class B misdemeanor pot possession claims will no longer be addressed on a case-by-case basis as this practice has weighed heavily on the criminal justice system in both dollar and human costs. “Given that these cases are ultimately […]

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson has announced a stop to prosecution for low-level marijuana offenses. Arrests for class B misdemeanor pot possession claims will no longer be addressed on a case-by-case basis as this practice has weighed heavily on the criminal justice system in both dollar and human costs.

“Given that these cases are ultimately — and predictably — dismissed, the burdens that they pose on the system and the individual are difficult to justify. We are pouring money into an endeavor that produces no public safety benefit.” – Kenneth Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney

The new practice will be set in place in about 18 months and there are necessary limitations. As Thompson told The Record:

“The new policy would not apply to 16 and 17-year-olds, people with serious criminal histories and those caught smoking in public or near children.”

So long as you do not have a serious criminal history and don’t spark up in public areas, you NY cannabis smokers have more protection than you think. If you aren’t smoking in public or have marijuana in ‘public view’, the NYPD does not have any right to make it so. Stop-and-frisk has been abused by most cops, and having you turn out your pockets generates a ‘public view’ marijuana arrest, costing NY more money than its worth.

With the new policy in effect, we can be hopeful that it makes more room for beneficial public safety efforts and tightens the grip on cops abusing their power with racial profiling and frisks.

Header image courtesy of The Huffington Post
Sources: The New York Times, The Record