New York City marijuana arrests top 50K, 86% minorities
By "Radical" Russ Belville
Here’s another way to think of it: 1 in 17 marijuana arrests in America take place in New York City.
By "Radical" Russ Belville
(New York Times Blog) More people were arrested last year in New York City on charges of marijuana possession than during the entire 19-year period from 1978 to 1996, according to an analysis released this morning by the Drug Policy Alliance.
Last year, the sixth year in a row that marijuana possession arrests increased, 50,383 people were arrested, according to a report recently released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and obtained by the policy alliance, which advocates for reform of drug laws.
The figure adds up to 140 arrests a day, making marijuana possession the leading reason for arrest in the city, and represents an 8 percent increase over 2009 and a 69 percent increase since 2005, the alliance reported in a statement issued Thursday.
Seventy percent of those arrested are younger than 30, and 86 percent are black or Latino, even though, according to the Drug Policy Group, “young whites use marijuana at higher rates.”
Here’s another way to think of it: 1 in 17 marijuana arrests in America take place in New York City.