NYPD Commish Supports Gov. Cuomo Plan To Decriminalize Weed

Change in law would end heavier penalty for "empty your pockets" command by police, but smoking the dope still a crime​

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ossession-small-amounts-pot-article-1.1089717​

ALBANY — A dime bag is fine — just don’t let it go up in smoke.
Gov. Cuom0 announced plans Monday to remove criminal penalties from the public possession of small amounts of marijuana but left intact the penalties for smoking weed.​

Cuomo said his proposal would correct a “blatant inconsistency” in the law that treats the private possession of 25 grams or less of pot as a violation — with a maximum fine of $100 — while the public display of marijuana can earn misdemeanor charges.​

“The problem is the law, and the solution is change the law,” Cuomo said.
The proposal, which could greatly impact stop-and-frisk arrests made by the NYPD, has the support of Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.​

“It supports our quality-of-life efforts, in that smoking it in public or burning it is still a misdemeanor, is still a crime,” said Kelly, who appeared with Cuomo at a Capitol press conference.​

Kelly said the legislation was consistent with an order he issued last year directing officers to issue violations instead of misdemeanor charges for small amounts of pot.​

Despite that directive, the NYPD reported more than 40,000 misdemeanor arrests for marijuana possession in 2011.
Cuomo’s proposal has the support of all five New York City district attorneys.​

While refusing to criticize the NYPD’s controversial use of stop-and-frisk, Cuomo said the tactic had aggravated problems with the marijuana law, leading to the needless arrest of tens of thousands of people.​

“A young person has a small amount of marijuana and that’s a violation, that’s a fine,” Cuomo said. “Police officer says turn out your pockets, and now it’s a crime. Who could defend against that? And look at the damage you are doing to young people.”​

The vast majority of those arrested for marijuana possession — 82% — are black or Hispanic, administration officials said.​

Robert Lowery, 29, a construction worker from East Harlem, said one minor arrest is all it takes to ruin somebody’s life.​

“If you have a job, you can lose it all over a petty misdemeanor,” he said.
Cuomo’s proposal is backed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — but it faces an uphill road in the GOP-controlled Senate.​

“I am against any decriminalization of marijuana, but I would like to see the bill,” said Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn), an ex-cop.​

 

This is a start. The main thing...is to make the federal government decriminalize it altogether.

 

i dont smoke weed..never had....but i do drink...

in fact I got blitzed last night after work, so I know demonizing one drug and celebrating another all over TV is hypocrisy

i definitely support everyone's stance on the issue. There's more to worry about than a little pot.

 

damn! NYC had an empty your pockets law... its small movements like this that will eventually have some sort of legalization on the federal level.

one of the main issue for federally legalizing to the fullest anytime soon is the fact they cant administer a field sobriety test for herb like they can alcohol. once the figure this out it will be all good.

 

true

never looked at it that way

smart man:smt023

i do agree about NYC tho...NYC is one of the most influential cities in the country... when people see what they're doing there, the other ones will follow in lock-step eventually

 

Raymond Kelly has the NYPD working triple time working against terrorism targeted toward NYC.

Who knows what type of terrorist threats the NYPD has to respond too on a daily basis since they keep it classified.

His attitude toward weed and other issues have changed since the last time he was Commish back in the '90's. He probably views weed and other low level street crimes as a waste of NYPD resources that can be used for other things.

When a cop is standing there fucking with a 21 year old with a spliff on him. Commish Kelly is seeing it as wasting time with the arrest and followup paperwork which takes time from dealing with Mohammed Jihad who is more of a threat.