New York City is an area that has had some infamous issues with cannabis busts – the police always seem to be cracking down on offenders, and it is one of the worst areas for racial profiling in connection with drug searches. Many thought this would get better in 2014, when it became illegal to arrest someone for having under 25 grams of pot. However, despite their efforts at decriminalization, cannabis busts are on the rise again in the Big Apple.
According to High Times, a new report by the Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP) shows that cannabis arrests rose by a third at the beginning of 2016. Apparently, this is because while the law was put into place to help stop arrests of minorities, and to keep those who had only ever gotten in trouble for cannabis possession out of jail, it is still not completely fair to those who are caught. Many are still getting arrested for smoking in public, and the fine that comes with having less than 25 grams also still comes with a summons.
Additionally, because only the city has decriminalized and the state still has strict cannabis policies, those who break the law can still be punished by the state. Many also feel that this is not actually helping with the profiling of minorities, as police can still approach minorities and assume they have some amount of cannabis, and lower-income individuals are being hurt by crimes.
This is due to the fact that police in New York are working on quotas, and trying to generate revenue for the city with their searches and profiling. Such unfair behaviors make it hard for them to actually be objective when it comes to their searches.
While decriminalization in New York may have had good intentions, it does not seem to be having the desired effects of helping with cannabis reform. Hopefully, change on a state and federal level will finally ease tensions on the streets of New York.
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