NY Senate Republicans Kill Pot Decriminalization Bill, Allowing Unjust, Racist Arrests to Continue

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NY Senate Republicans Kill Pot Decriminalization Bill, Allowing Unjust, Racist Arrests to Continue


Last night, Senate Republicans effectively killed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s bill to decriminalize marijuana in the public view. The reform would have reduced the consequence of an illegal pot bust for hundreds of thousands of young, Black and Latino New Yorkers.The Village Voice reports:

This year's legislative session is set to come to an end Thursday, and a proposal laid out by Governor Andrew Cuomo that would decriminalize the "public view" loophole in New York's marijuana possession law appears to be dead in the water.

The governor set a deadline of last night for he and legislative leaders to reach an agreement on any legislation they wanted passed during this session. It's Tuesday, and no announcement of a deal on "public view" marijuana possession has been announced.

Possession of pot in one’s home or pocket has not been a crime in New York state for more than 30 years. Nonetheless, the “in public view” loophole allows officers to arrest and charge individuals with a misdemeanor crime. This year alone, the NYPD arrested roughly 50,000 individuals -- 87% of whom are Black or Latino men -- for having pot in public view.

Research reveals that many arrestees were actually innocent. During the racial profiling tactic stop-and-frisk, police often (unconstitutionally) reach their hands into backpacks and pockets. When they demand suspects empty their pockets or find the weed themselves, cops often slam them with an unjust ‘in public view’ arrest. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/988596/ny_senate_republicans_kill_pot_decriminalization_bill%2C_allowing_unjust%2C_racist_arrests_to_continue/

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1. police are not your friend nt