New Yorkers To Hold May 25 Pot Rally Outside Mayor’s House

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Photo: Death By 1000 Papercuts
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he enjoyed smoking marijuana. He must also enjoy busting people for it, since his city is the world capital for pot busts.

​Thanks to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City has the dubious distinction of being the marijuana arrest capital of the world. 

Marijuana possession arrests are the number one reason for arrest in New York City, making up 15 percent of all arrests there, according to activists. On average, police arrest 140 people every day in New York City for possessing small amounts of pot.
More than 50,000 marijuana possession arrests were made in the Big Apple in 2010, despite marijuana being decriminalized statewide in New York 34 years ago, in 1977.


Graphic: NORML
More than 350,000 people have been arrested for marijuana possession in New York City under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an admitted pot-smoker.

​The arrests display a disturbing and extreme racial bias: 86 percent of those arrested are black and Latino, despite whites smoking cannabis at higher rates.
Youths are also targeted. More than 55 percent of those arrested are between 16 and 24 years of age; most of these are young black and Latino males.
The New York City Police Department is illegally searching people or tricking suspects to show the marijuana in their pockets, so they can they be arrested for “public display” of cannabis.
More than $75 million a year of taxpayer money is wasted on these marijuana arrests, while essential social services are being cut or eliminated.
All of this nonsense is made even more unbearable by Mayor Bloomberg’s hypocrisy on the subject of cannabis. He said he smoked marijuana “and enjoyed it,” but has overseen hundreds of thousands of pot arrests, mostly of young people of color.

Community leaders and city council members will gather on Wednesday, May 25 at Mayor Bloomberg’s Upper East Side apartment to call for an end to the mayor’s costly, biased marijuana arrest crusade.

The NYPD’s marijuana arrests are largely the result of illegal searches, according to activists, and have led to staggering racial disparities. They also cost taxpayers tens of millions of wasted dollars every year.
The rally, to “award” Mayor Bloomberg for making New York City the marijuana arrest capital of the world through racial bias, illegal searches, and fiscal waste, will begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. New York City Council members Letitia James, Melissa Mark-Viverito and Jumaane Williams plan to attend.
Mayor Bloomberg’s Upper East Side apartment is at 176 East 79th Street, between 5th and Madison.
What: Rally To “Award” Mayor Bloomberg For Making New York City #1 In Marijuana Arrests
When: Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 10 a.m.
Who: Community leaders, legal experts, people directly impacted by these arrests, and City Council members Letitia James, Melissa Mark-Viverito and Jumaane Williams
Where: Mayor Bloomberg’s Upper East Side apartment, 17 East 79th Street, between 5th and Madison
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