Marijuana law creates criminals By Hakeem Jeffries

In 2011 over 50,000 people were arrested for possession of marijuana in New York. The majority of people arrested were black and Latino and to pay a judicial and financial. It is also said that $75 million is spent every year for marijuana.

The state decriminalized this 30 years ago, causing anyone caught with possession less than 25 grams must pay a $100 fine. Even with this law the arrest rate has shot up with over 400,00 people arrested putting marijuana possession at No. 1 for arrests.

The cause of this is mainly the NYPD fault because hundreds of thousands of people are either questioned, searched or frisked and found with marijuana. However no punishment is applied to the offenders and over 90% of them get off with nothing.

But possession in public is a crime and when people are asked to show everything in their pockets and the police see marijuana they are locked up and charged with misdemeanor possession which is punishable up to three months in jail with a $500 fine.

This basically shows that if you aren't seen by a cop in public then it's not a crime, however if you don't submit to the officer's demands then your charged with resisting arrest(punishable up to six months-two years in jail). This is seen as a crooked method to use.

The unethical thing about the arrest is that there only in particular neighborhoods and arrest more Latinos and blacks. This gives people the assumption that the police are bias, but studies show that whites are also constantly arrested in other neighborhoods.

This is waste of law enforcement time as they could be busting armed gun men or stopping thieves, but their putting more time and effort into the youth who pose a lesser threat.

In conclusion New York needs to focus on the bigger crimes ahead first and then attend small matters last. Teens will be teens so of course there going to do things like this no matter anybody does so don't enforce them to stop smoking because that's going to push them to do it more. If the police see him in the streets then of course he/she should be arrested but asking people to empty their pockets that's wrongful use of power.