Governor Proposes Decriminalizing Possession of About a Half Ounce of Weed
January 10, 2013 | Bucky Turco
Governor Cuomo delivered his State of the States address on Wednesday and announced a few new initiatives such as upping the minimum wage, increasing access to early education, and most importantly, decriminalizing weed. Technically, possession of 25 grams or less of pot — as long as it’s not in “open view” has been decriminalized since 1977, yet possession of a few grams in public, is a misdemeanor violation. According to a statement on the governor’s website, “Police arrest 100 times more people for this offense,” and the majority of these arrests are of black and Hispanic persons, otherwise the law would have been changed along time ago. So, Cuomo is proposing the decriminalization of 15 grams or less whether it’s in “open view” or not. Anyone caught with those amounts would still have their weed confiscated, but would get a civil citation and not a criminal charge on their record.
New York State Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) is confident that the medical marijuana bill introduced in March will pass through the senate if voted on, claiming that 38 of the group's 63 members back the legislation. There's a two-fold roadblock, however: Senate co-leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) will have…
Maryland will soon be the latest state to reduce penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis, joining nation's capital in a move towards decriminalization. Yesterday, the state's senate voted 34 to 8 for legislation that would reduce the penalty for carrying up to 10 grams of weed to a civil fine,…
Facing lagging poll numbers just a month out from primary elections, NYC Comprtroller and 2013 mayoral candidate John Liu just played a political wildcard. Yesterday, said he'd like to see cannabis legalized for recreational and medicinal use, with tax dollars going to lower tuition at City University of New York…
