{"id":37131,"date":"2019-07-29T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T23:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2019\/07\/29\/new-york-decriminalizes-cannabis-again\/"},"modified":"2019-07-30T00:41:22","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T08:41:22","slug":"new-york-decriminalizes-cannabis-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2019\/07\/29\/new-york-decriminalizes-cannabis-again\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Decriminalizes Cannabis\u2026 Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

While the Empire State\u2019s legalization hopes fell short this year after seeing a wave of major support from around the state, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just signed off on the consolation prize: marijuana decriminalization. The legislation could help change the lives of nearly a million New Yorkers, thanks to a provision on expungements. The language in the bill that reduces penalties for up to two ounces of cannabis to a $200 fine, and $50 for less than an ounce, goes into effect in one month.<\/p>\n

Cuomo has been noting how cannabis laws in New York<\/a> disproportionately affect communities of color for some time and he took his firmest action yet today in actually addressing the issue. He also noted in a statement<\/a> following the signing that his first attempt at \u201cexpanding decriminalization\u201d was in 2013. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
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I just signed legislation decriminalizing marijuana use in New York & creating a process for expunging past convictions.<\/p>\n

Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana for far too long, and today we are ending this injustice. pic.twitter.com\/PBSXWbQtiW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 29, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cCommunities of color have been
\ndisproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana for far too long, and
\ntoday we are ending this injustice once and for all,\u201d Cuomo said. \u201cBy
\nproviding individuals who have suffered the consequences of an unfair marijuana
\nconviction with a path to have their records expunged and by reducing draconian
\npenalties, we are taking a critical step forward in addressing a broken and
\ndiscriminatory criminal justice process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melissa Moore, deputy state director for Drug
\nPolicy Alliance New York, weighed in on the signing, saying it still fell short
\nfor those communities Cuomo referenced. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe inability of the state legislature and Governor Cuomo to pass comprehensive marijuana legalization this legislative session means that black and Latinx individuals remain disproportionately in the crosshairs of harmful marijuana enforcement,\u201d Moore said statement following the signing. <\/p>\n

\u201cDecriminalization alone is not enough to deal
\nwith the full impact of marijuana prohibition and just gives law enforcement
\ndiscretion,\u201d said Moore. \u201cActually addressing the legacy of harm from
\nprohibition and targeted enforcement by comprehensively legalizing and
\nreinvesting in communities is what policymakers need to deliver on. While it is
\ndisappointing that our leaders have once again failed to prioritize racial
\njustice in New York, we will continue to fight on behalf of comprehensive
\nreforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore went on to speak of the 900,000 low-level marijuana arrests from the past two decades that would be impacted by the automatic expungement effort that Gothamist reported<\/a> will be led by the state\u2019s Division of Criminal Justice Services. <\/p>\n

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She stated that the law should not be considered \u201cdecriminalization.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt is critical that this bill is not mistaken
\nas a \u2018decriminalization\u2019 measure, despite how lawmakers have advertised it,\u201d
\nshe said, noting on the many instances of marijuana possession that would still
\nbe criminal under the new law, \u201callowing law enforcement the discretion to
\ncontinue making arrests.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, in 1977, New York \u201cdecriminalized\u201d marijuana the first time. Under the law, New Yorkers would face a $100 fine if they possessed up to 25 grams of cannabis, and no criminal charges. But this didn\u2019t stop New York\u2019s law enforcement offers from spending the next few decades following discriminatory policing practices<\/a>, including \u201cstop-and-frisk.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAs we have seen in the years following New
\nYork\u2019s so-called decriminalization of marijuana in 1977,\u201d Moore said, \u201canything
\nshort of comprehensive legalization means that black and Latinx individuals
\nwill remain disproportionately in the crosshairs of harmful enforcement
\npractices.\u201d <\/p>\n

The nation\u2019s oldest marijuana law reform
\norganization also weighed in on the news. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the legislature failed to enact
\ncannabis legalization and regulation in the Empire State, this new policy is
\nsurely a step in the right direction,\u201d said NORML State Policies
\nCoordinator Carly Wolf. \u201cMany New Yorkers, a disproportionate number of
\nwhom are black and brown, who regularly feel the burden of a prior conviction
\nwill finally be able to find relief and get their lives back.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a further sign of the times in New York, while Cuomo was signing the decrim legislation today, Marijuana Moment<\/a> reported Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was cutting a ribbon at Canopy\u2019s hemp industrial park. The company plans on putting $150 million into the effort. <\/p>\n

TELL
\nUS,<\/strong> do you think decriminalization or legalization is
\nbetter?<\/p>\n

The post New York Decriminalizes Cannabis\u2026 Again<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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While the Empire State\u2019s legalization hopes fell short this year after seeing a wave of major support from around the state, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just signed off on the consolation prize: marijuana decriminalization. The legislation could help change the lives of nearly a million New Yorkers, thanks toContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,3792,94,3920,208,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37131"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37131"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37132,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37131\/revisions\/37132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}