new york city cannabis arrests Archives

New York City Cannabis Arrests Drop 75%

January 30, 2015

Cannabis arrests in New York City are down over 75% in December compared to the same time last year. In total there were 460 cannabis arrests last month, compared to 1,820 in December, 2013. The arrest are down due to a change in the way the city handles minor cannabis possession cases, which was announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio in November.

“Since the inception of our policy in 2014, marijuana enforcement activity is trending down in all categories”, Deputy Chief Kim Royster told the Associated Press.

New York City Police to Stop Arresting for Cannabis Possession

November 12, 2014November 10, 2014

At a press conference this afternoon, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce that the city’s police department will no longer arrest individuals for low-level cannabis possession, and will instead issue tickets.

The announce will come less than three weeks after a report was released, finding that discriminatory cannabis arrests have continued under Mayor de Blasio, who was elected in 2013. The report found that since de Blasio took office, the number of cannabis arrests are set to equal, or even surpass the rate of arrests under Mayor Bloomberg.