GANJA DO!
‘UNNECESSARY COLLARS’
Under a policy de Blasio put in place in his first year in office, the NYPD currently gives summonses when someone is found with marijuana in their possession, but not smoking it. That brought down the number of arrests significantly, but the racial gap persisted.
The department argued that was because cops make arrests in neighborhoods where residents call to complain — but as the Daily News first reported, the NYPD’s data on 911 and 311 calls cast doubt on those claims. The neighborhoods with high numbers of calls and high numbers of arrests do not match up.
In his speech Tuesday, de Blasio promised changes were coming.
“We must and we will end unnecessary arrests and end disparity in enforcement — it’s time for those to be a thing of the past, in New York City and all over this country,” he said.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill said the department was putting together a working group to review the policy.
“The NYPD does not target people based on race or other demographics,” O’Neill said, adding that officer observations and local complaints are among the reasons for arrests. “But there are differences in arrest rates, and they have persisted going back many years, long before this current administration. We need an honest assessment about why they exist, and balance it in the context of the public safety needs of all communities.”
“The NYPD has no interest in arresting New Yorkers for marijuana offenses when those arrests have no impact on public safety,” O’Neill added.
He said the working group would include a “diverse” number of police brass, who would consult with experts, including advocacy groups and defense lawyers.
The Council did its own analysis of 311 and 911 call data and found it did not match up with arrests. Neighborhoods in southeast Queens, East Harlem and the South Bronx in particular had more arrests than would be predicted based on calls.
Red Hook in Brooklyn had 88 calls to 311 and 911, but 246 arrests. In contrast, the precinct covering Breezy Point and Rockaway Park had 113 calls, but only 22 arrests.
“The grandchild of stop-andfrisk is marijuana arrests based on race,” Sharpton said.
More and more Democrats in New York have thrown their support behind full legalization of marijuana, though de Blasio still opposes it.
The state Democratic Party is expected to formally back legalization, and Gov. Cuomo, who has opposed it, said moves by surrounding states to legalize have changed the equation. LEGAL POT could be a $3 billion industry in New York — and pour up to $772 million in tax money into state and city coffers, according to a new report. Amid a groundswell of support for legalizing marijuana in New York, city Controller Scott Stringer found that the market could add up to $3.1 billion a year statewide, including $1.1 billion in the city. That’s based on estimates there are about 1.5 million regular marijuana users across the state and 550,000 from the city. The report assumes they’d spend about $2,080 a year on weed, about the same as smokers in Washington and Colorado do since those states legalized the drug. “Not only is marijuana an untapped revenue source for the city and the state, but the prosecution of marijuana-related crimes has had a devastating and disproportionate impact on black and Hispanic communities for far too long,” Stringer said. The city could put a 25% excise tax on pot sales, which would bring in $336 million a year. For the state, a 10% excise tax plus regular sales taxes would generate $436 million.