| Bill Frazetto |
| “42nd Street Subway Arrest NYC 1975” |
Stop and frisk.
If you’ve ever smoked weed in New York City, you know that those three little words can do more than kill your buzz, in many cases they have ruined people’s lives. The city’s newly elected Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a change to the discriminatory and highly controversial policy, and more specifically how it will impact those busted with some buds in the Big Apple.
| Jurvetson/FlickrCommons |
With a constant flow of cannabis-related headlines pouring out of Canada, the United States, and Mexico on a daily basis, it is easy to overlook the fact that public support for legal cannabis use is on the rise on continents all around the globe.
In Australia, marijuana is by far the most popular and widely used drug, with over 1/3rd of all Aussie’s over the age of 22 admitting to having taken a toke or two in their time. But as it becomes increasingly more popular in their home country, those same Aussies have begun to take their stash with them when traveling abroad, and simple pot possession has several of them facing possible death penalties as they sit in Chinese prisons awaiting their fates.
Washington D.C. effectively decriminalized possession of up to one ounce of marijuana July 17, but that hardly means the end to marijuana-related arrests.
According to DCist, there were 26 arrests involving cannabis during the first two weeks of decriminalization– July 17 to July 31– just one less than the amount of citations (27) issued for possession. Data from D.C. Police says the 26 arrests were for public consumption, distribution, possession with the intent to distribute and possession of more than one ounce.
| Mary McNeil/Flickr. |
| Vancouver Police Department Chief Jim Chu. |
Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu says that police need more options in dealing with marijuana possession charges and decriminalizing the possession of 30 grams or less at the federal level could save millions in court and police costs.
Chu delivered his message to his peers earlier this week at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police annual meeting. The association also passed a resolution urging the government to provide alternative ways of dealing with the “crime” of low-level marijuana possession.
| Graphic: Law Firm Blog |
And Many Of Those Arrests Are Allegedly Due To Illegal Searches