Manhattan: more criminal prosecutions for cannabis possession

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, announced that it would no longer prosecute simple possession or use of cannabis as part of a broader effort to end the wide racial disparity in cannabis arrests.

Prosecutions will cease as of August 1, and will of course continue in cases where public safety is threatened, which should reduce cannabis arrests from 5,000 to 200 in Manhattan according to Cyrus Vance. Since 2014, possession of 25 grams of cannabis has been punishable by a fine of 100$.

This decision comes at a time when the New York Times revealed that blacks in the city were eight times more likely to be arrested for simple cannabis use than whites, and that the difference cannot be entirely attributed to the fact that residents in predominantly black neighborhoods call the police more to complain.

Federal statistics show similar rates of consumption between whites, blacks or Hispanics, but 87% of those arrested for cannabis in New York are black or Hispanic.

In New York City, cannabis-related arrests have declined since 2014 and Bill de Blasio's inauguration as mayor. They have mostly been replaced by warnings or fines. Even so, Bill de Blasio said this week that more needs to be done to reduce the number of arrests and their racial disparity. He has asked the NYPD to come up with a plan to do just that within 30 days, which could join the New York DA's decision.

Medical cannabis is legal in New York and strictly regulated. The state's upcoming gubernatorial election will see cannabis take center stage. Cynthia Nixon has already come out in favor of legalization, while his opponent in the primaries, Andrew Cuomo, advocated relaxing existing legislation in view of the various legalizations in the surrounding states.