1. An estimated 12.2 percent of New York's population or 1.9 million New Yorkers have smoked weed in the past year. When you translate that to New York City's population, that means more people in New York City than in any major city in the United States, and perhaps the world. That's a lot of smoke.
2. New York is among 29 states with some form of cannabis law in place since 1905--theirs requiring labelling and restrictive sales. The most outspoken opponent of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 (aka the official start of Marijuana Prohibition) was New York mayor Fiorello Laguardia.
3. In late 19th Century New York, it's estimated that there were over 500 operating hashish parlors in New York City where New Yorkers would go to relax, socialize, and smoke hash together.
4. In 1914, the New York Board of Health passed an amendment and the Towns-Boylan act prohibiting the sale of cannabis to those that made it a "habit-forming" activity. Cannabis was only legally sold from pharmacies, and was labelled as a poison.
5. New York City--in part thanks to its size and in part to its harsh laws--has earned the onerous label as the "cannabis-arrest capital of the world." In 2010, New York state saw over 100,000individuals arrested for marijuana (50,383 in NYC alone)--97% of which were for simple possession. New York City arrests dropped just above 40,000 in 2012, and just under 40,000 in 2013. Still, cannabis possession remains the number one cause for arrest in New York--and way higher than violent crimes. And it continues to waste police hours. From 2002-2012, there were approximately 440,000 marijuana possession arrests in New York City alone--the equivalent of 1,097,640 policeman hours. On average, those numbers equates to 93,000 marijuana arrests per year in state of New York.
6. Signed on May 8, 1973, the Rockefeller Drug Laws gave New York America's harshest drug laws--as marijuana was grouped with drugs like heroin, morphine, and cocaine. The minimum sentence for possession of four or more ounces of cannabis thus became a whopping 15 years to life in prison. Ironically, in 2002, Melie Rockefeller was arrested for protesting the same Rockefeller Laws that her grandfather (Nelson Rockefeller) made a reality almost 30 years before.
7. New York technically decriminalized cannabis possession (of 25 grams or less) since 1977, but has had little success with enacting this policy. Unfortunately, New York police officers have used a loophole by getting individuals to expose their cannabis, and then arresting them. Thanks to the NYPD's massive 600,000+ stop-and-frisks per year, that results in a lot of wasted hours and fruitless arrests.
8. A recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University showed that New Yorkers overwhelmingly support cannabis legalization and firmly believe that possession should not be just cause for arrest (especially those aged 18-29)
9. Brooklyn--which saw 12,000 marijuana arrests in 2012--has vowed to stop prosecuting low-level cannabis offenders, as its District Attorney vows to move towards decriminalization. The DA's plan is to replace arrests for under 15 grams of possession with $100 fines, and utilize police force time elsewhere. As for all of New York City: while Governor Cuomo stated earlier this year he hoped to enforce decriminalized laws, but that plan has fallen wayward. If all of New York City did decriminalize cannabis, 39,257 out of the 40,661 low-level weed arrests in NY would have been nullified.
10. New York will begin serving up medical marijuana to patients with severe illnesses at around 20 hospitals later this year. Unfortunately, the Medical Marijuana bill Governor Cuomo signed was actually a re-establishing of a 1980 law titled the "Antonio G. Olivieri Controlled Substance Therapeutic Research Program." Like its name, this policy does not offer much excitement, as its extremely restrictive nature will limit access (to cancer and glaucoma patients) while keeping New York's black market alive and well.
