cannabisnews.com: Gotham's Mayor Ventilates City's Potsmokers! Gotham's Mayor Ventilates City's Potsmokers! Posted by FoM on December 20, 1998 at 23:32:23 PT Under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's "quality of life" crackdown, the NYPD will arrest 40,000 on marijuana charges by year's end, the Department HAS boasted. By the end of November, a record 31,330 had already been busted, eight times the number arrested six years ago. "I don't think there is more marijuana on the street today," Queens Assistant DA Jack Ryan told the New York Times.. "There is probably less. But you don't have a situation anymore where you can smoke a joint on the subway and if you do get caught, the cop just says, 'throw it away.'"Before Giuliani, low-level possession busts just got a summons. Most busted today are held for arraignment, and can spend up to 36 hours in custody before seeing a judge. The crackdown utilizes plainclothes patrols, undercover stings, and surveillance cameras in public parks. "We have changed strategy," said Chief Martin O'Boyle of the Organized Crime Bureau. Sting operations now target buyers with police posing as dealers, not the other way around. Most low-level busts get a deal in which charges are dropped if the defendant's record stays clean for a year. But by then, they have spent up to three days in custody."We call that doing your jail time up front," said Tony Elitcher of the Legal Aid Society. "You are doing your sentence before you ever get in front of the judge." The Criminal Court system is so strained by the caseload, they are appealing to the state legislature for an increase of 23 judges. Officials claim the pot busts often turn up warrants for more serious crimes. "It is a waste of resources, a colossal waste," says NORML attorney Gerald Lefcourt. "Most of the people who are arrested for marijuana are no threat to anybody." Bill Weinberg - Special to High Times Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by BOB MILES on November 07, 1999 at 13:43:19 PT: COAST TOURS WOULD LIKE TO LINK WITH YOUR WEBSITE. TRYING TO GET HEADS WHO TRAVEL TO TRAVEL TO CAMBRIA CA.BIG SUR COUNTRY COAST TOURS [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: