New Yorkers Are Systematically Screwed By "Public View" Marijuana Law. These Are Their Stories (Part Two)

By James King Thu., Jun. 7 2012 at 7:15 AM

Categories: Weed

Drug Policy Alliance

This is Patrick Exume. He was hit with misdemeanor charges after cops found a roach (the ass-end of a joint, or "marijuana cigarette") in his pocket as he was walking home from a friend's house. Marijuana possession, mind you, was supposedly "decriminalized" in New York in the 1970s.

In an effort to persuade New York lawmakers to support Governor Andrew Cuomo's push to decriminalize "public view" marijuana arrests, a drug policy group has started a video campaign to illustrate how people are getting screwed by a loophole in the Marijuana Reform Act, which (supposedly) decriminalized weed in the Empire State in 1979.

As it stands, if you're busted with weed in private, you've committed a violation that's about as serious a crime as a parking ticket. However, if you're caught with weed in public, it's a misdemeanor. The loophole has led to the disproportionate arrests of young minorities (of the roughly 50,000 people arrested each year in New York for low-level marijuana offenses, 87 percent are black or Hispanic).

The Drug Policy Alliance has put together a 15-part series of interviews with people explaining how they were screwed by the "public view" portion of New York's marijuana law. Hear the stories of Patrick Exume below -- and check back tomorrow for the next installment New Yorker's Screwed By "Public View" Weed Laws.