cannabisnews.com: De Blasio Prepares City for Marijuana Legalization
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De Blasio Prepares City for Marijuana Legalization
Posted by CN Staff on May 21, 2018 at 05:34:20 PT
By Benjamin Fearnow
Source: Newsweek
New York -- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to instruct NYPD to stop arrests of New Yorkers smoking weed in public while additionally forming a task force to ease what he sees as an inevitable full-on legalization of recreational marijuana.De Blasio will direct the New York Police Department to hand out summonses -- and not arrest -- people caught smoking pot by officers in public areas across the city, aides told the New York Daily News Sunday. The move is partially a follow-up on his announcement last week to "overhaul and reform" enforcement that has created a wide racial disparity in marijuana arrests. But both de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both critics of legalization, appear to be preparing the entire state for a legalization of marijuana they see as an inevitable policy shift regardless of their actions.
"With marijuana legalization likely to occur in our state in the near future, it is critical our city plans for the public safety, health, and financial consequences involved," he told the New York Daily News. "While I still have real concerns we must work through, it isn't difficult to see where this is headed, and any responsible policymaker must prepare for that eventuality. My focus now will be helping to craft the critical regulatory framework that must come before legalization is realized."Although marijuana would still remain illegal in New York City, the initial policy step in stopping public pot smoking arrests is intended to reduce a statistic uncovered by the New York Times that black people are eight times more likely to be arrested on misdemeanor marijuana charges than white, non-Hispanic New Yorkers. In Manhattan alone, black people were arrested at 15 times the rate of white people. A specific date for when public pot smoking arrests would stop was not released, but the move would be part of a 30-day review de Blasio ordered of racial disparities in marijuana arrests.Last week, de Blasio told WNYC radio he has a "great fear" that the "corporatization of the marijuana industry" could echo that of the U.S. tobacco industry's flagrant targeting of children prior to the 1970s. This statement came after U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced his plan to make federal marijuana law reforms and the Democratic party discussed making a legalization endorsement as part of their 2018 platform. Cuomo told a Brooklyn crowd Thursday that the legalization of recreational pot “for all intents and purposes it is going to be here anyway ... the facts have changed."But Cuomo, the long-time opponent of legalizing recreational weed, only announced his seemingly newfound support for the issue one day after rival Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Cynthia Nixon said in a Wednesday video, "We have to stop putting people of color in jail for something that white people do with impunity."In November 2014, first-term Mayor de Blasio and then-police commissioner Bill Bratton announced the city's plan to start giving out tickets and court summonses rather than making citywide arrests of New Yorkers for possession of 25 grams and under of the substance still regarded as a Schedule I drug by federal authorities. The new guidelines for officers were intended to reduce time spent on petty crimes.Source: Newsweek (US)Author: Benjamin FearnowPublished: May 20, 2018Copyright: 2018 Newsweek, Inc.Contact: letters newsweek.comWebsite: http://www.newsweek.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/SRBumca6CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by John Tyler on May 25, 2018 at 14:52:50 PT
Stop all of the cannabis arrests and summons
A summons. Still… People of color are still going to get raw end of that deal. People of color can get harassed or worse for “driving while black”, “walking while black”, “jogging while black”, “sleeping while black”, and “barbecuing while black”. So how is “smoking cannabis while black” going to work out? Get past the racism. Stop all of the cannabis arrests and summons. That will correct the skewed statistics. The Drug War has been lost. Drugs won.
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Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on May 25, 2018 at 13:04:52 PT
still "preparing"
giving people a "summons"....so nice of him! So people - 90% of whom will be black or latino - are forced to hire a lawyer, take time off work to go to court and be criminally prosecuted, fined and left with a criminal record for life and possibly receiving jail time.what a great guy though! How nice of him to spare the dark-skinned people from being cuffed and immediately dragged off to jail. Now they can go home to their family and plan to be criminally prosecuted and thrown in jail LATER. What compassion! I know I sure appreciate some a lead time before having my life ruined for touching a plant.
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Comment #9 posted by afterburner on May 25, 2018 at 11:44:14 PT
Michigan to Vote on Legalization This November
CANNABIS.
Activists Secure Marijuana Legalization Measure on Michigan's Ballot This November.
A decade ago Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana and appear poised to do the same for recreational marijuana.
dispensaries.com ,
Guest Writer.
May 22, 2018
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/313777
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by Hope on May 23, 2018 at 17:42:50 PT
Bad guys and bullies
Like those officers telling people that the dogs trained to scent out cannabis will have to be put down if cannabis is legalized.They're bullies and lies drip off their tongues and out of their mouths way too easily.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by Hope on May 23, 2018 at 17:40:11 PT
Not legalizing...
I keep thinking about the deer in the headlights response that Hilary Clinton gave quite some time ago in response to a question about legalization of cannabis. She's not a courageous person, at all, I believe. And she isn't going to stand up for the little guy or the low guy at all... ever. No guts in that department. That's obvious. She was caught by surprise. I saw a round eyed flash of fear on her face. She said something about, "There's too much money in it." Before she realized it, in her surprise, she had blurted out a terrible truth. That was a horrible truth. And it says so much about it all. She wasn't talking about money for the cartels or low level dealers when she said that. She was talking about all the vast numbers of people that are sucking money out of the system for enforcing and promoting the law and testing people's body fluids. She meant there's too much money in it for people she is really scared of. People like law enforcement of all kinds and the body fluid takers. Oh my gosh. That is so very, ungodly wrong. And scary. I think most politicians... and other people, are just too afraid of those powerful people... more powerful than politicians... to stand up and tell them they are wrong and doing a terribly wrong thing. Yep. They are scared of those money grubbing over paid bullies. I don't mean all law enforcement either. Although they are all complicit in the overall "War". I'm talking about the ones in Narcotics, specifically. I have to believe they love having the injustice of these prohibitions to work with. I can't say as I blame the pols. The leech people are scary. And they have a strong mouth hold on the very blood, the fiscal revenue, of the nation... like human sized leeches. They have many teeth... and there is enough money involved that they aren't loosening that grip on the blood supply that easily. She really looked afraid for a moment.Because she was.There's too much money in the prohibition of cannabis. The ones receiving that money aren't going to be happy about not getting it.
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Comment #6 posted by HempWorld on May 22, 2018 at 16:10:26 PT
Read this 'folks'!
75 Billion in2030!https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-05-22-legal-marijuana-sales-expected-to-hit-75-billion-by-2030-say-analysts.htmlPersonally (but who the hell am I?), think it going to be at least double that, if not triple or more, so 75 Billion, in 2020-2021?Well it's taken my bloody life time, but times are getting sweeter indeed and they are STILL trying to hold it back, in favor of booze and cigs.!Of course, too many would lose out too much for that quick a beneficial change!Go figure!
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on May 22, 2018 at 15:45:33 PT
Progress, more forward momentum for Us.
There is opportunity in change. Good and bad perhaps. In this instance the bad is a shortcoming... -they could have gone further. But We already know they're only going to do what they're forced into.But the good is that We move a step forward. We'd like it to be a giant leap but We are going forward which means the IGNOIDS are going backwards. Progress none the less.Cheers.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on May 22, 2018 at 11:32:35 PT
"The facts have changed"?
Are we talking about some more of those "Alternative facts" we've heard about? I wonder exactly what "Facts" he's referring to. I guess the fact that, thank God, times and attitudes change. And fear of advertising? Oh my gosh. Their humorless souls never did get it that grown-ups like cartoons, too. Not to mention talking frogs.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on May 22, 2018 at 09:23:32 PT
Vincent
Exactly!
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Comment #2 posted by Vincent on May 22, 2018 at 07:22:24 PT:
nobody
Nobody should be arrested for Marijuana. Period.
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Comment #1 posted by Hope on May 21, 2018 at 11:49:49 PT
This always kind of shakes me...
"Although marijuana would still remain illegal in New York City, the initial policy step in stopping public pot smoking arrests is intended to reduce a statistic uncovered by the New York Times that black people are eight times more likely to be arrested on misdemeanor marijuana charges than white, non-Hispanic New Yorkers. In Manhattan alone, black people were arrested at 15 times the rate of white people." Remember back quite a few years ago when this was first pointed out to government? I believe it was good old New Jersey that made it clear that something blatantly lopsided was happening. Do you remember what law enforcement all over the country did when it became clear that black people were arrested at a much higher rate for cannabis "crime"? I do. They started plowing through the white kids like there was no tomorrow. The arrest rate for young white people shot up. That was fair. Right? That was so wrong. Wrong on top of wrong. I still worry about that happening again when the injustice within the injustice is mentioned. We need to get this prohibition over with.
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