New York May Be Next State to Offer Medical Marijuana

Ray Kelly, the Police Commissioner of New York, recently issued a memo to the NYPD about new regulations concerning marijuana possession. Instead of considering this crime a high priority, officers are now advised to give little energy toward pursuing those with small amounts of marijuana.

The memo refers to misdemeanor amounts of marijuana and is specific to those that have been revealed due to an official search. If a person is asked to empty their pockets, therefore revealing a small amount of pot, NYPD should not charge the crime or even report it.

This new regulation comes in response to rising marijuana possession rates. In just the last two years alone, over 100,000 have been arrested due to marijuana-related crimes. This has greatly affected the police's ability to remain effective, as much time and money is being wasted on non-threatening offenders.

While New York is not one of the many states that currently allow medicinal marijuana, this new regulation suggests that they are on their way. Most states that now accept marijuana for patients started in the same manner.

History shows that decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana is the first step toward widespread acceptance. Many states make marijuana possession the lowest priority of local police forces before the population decides that it shouldn't even be a priority at all.

These changes are being credited to the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), which has been lobbying state officials for years to change their drug policies. Not only do local municipalities lose money by wasting resources on pot smokers, but minority communities are unfairly targeted. In fact, most of the arrests that took place over the last two years were of people from Latino or African American descent.

New York is a very influential state, so this new regulation is a big step for the marijuana community. Hopefully this support will continue to grow and we will shortly see complete legalization, nation-wide.