Annual Arrests for Marijuana in NYC Drop From Nearly 51,000 in 2011 to Under 17,000 in 2015
According to data just released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, New York City marijuana arrests in 2015 dropped to under 17,000 for the first time since 1996. The 16,590 arrests for low-level marijuana possession in 2015 is a 42% decline from the 26,386 in 2014 and a 67% drop from the nearly 51,000 arrests in 2011.
This is welcome news and a clear sign of some changes in leadership. New York City is one of those places where showing marijuana in public was an arrestable offense, and so cops would stop-and-frisk and tell people to empty their pockets. Once it was out of their pockets, they’d get arrested for having it out in public.
A 67% drop in four years is pretty incredible. Part of it comes from the announcement in 2014 by Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Bill Bratton to stop arresting for simple possession of less than 25 grams.
Of course, 16,590 arrests is still way too high.
New York City!?
New York City would have been New Amsterdam had not the British intervened. We could have had coffee shops on every street just like the real Amsterdam. But nooooo…. Queen Victoria had to be the doom stayer of Western civilization. Down with the British.
America achieved full independence from Britain in 1783. Queen Victoria was born in 1819. Not sure how she managed to change the name of New York city… (obviously it happened earlier, 1664). The Vin Mariani cannabis wine drinking Victoria would probably have approved of coffee shops though.
oops, coca wine. She did use cannabis for period pains though.
She didn’t. Victorian culture was transmitted to the English-speaking North Americans during her reign. We could be enjoying the tolerant culture of Spinoza had the Dutch kept control.
New Amsterdam was being settled in 1609. By 1625, it was an established colonial settlement. In 1664, it was captured by the British, and renamed.
I would suggest that Victorian culture was a lot more tolerant of cannabis, cocaine and opium consumption than that current piece of U.S.reverse-imperialism known as the war on drugs.
The British were still selling opium in China during Victoria’s time. I think the Second Opium War happened early in her reign. China tried to prohibit drugs a century before the US did and the British went to war to prevent it.
Al’s nephew: Someone always makes a fortune from prohibition and in this case it was British companies using the newly appropriated smugglers’ hole in the wall known as HongKong. Think Mexico and Central America today. Will these prohibs never learn?
Queen Vicky used it for menstrual cramps and now…
Marijuana Vaginal Suppositories May Help Ease Menstrual Cramps
I can only assume these scientists were immediately raided by a DEA SWAT team.
Marijuana in Space – NASA Discovers THC on Meteorite Fragment
I have heard of smoking bannana peels, but smoking meteorites? Out of this world!
Like they say at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen, that report is Space Awesome!
I laughed my ass off when Jesse Jackson called NYC hymie town. Bwahaha!
Is the Huffpo suggesting it would be somehow better if it were a certain demographic?