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New York Has Officially Decriminalized Marijuana

Published

4 years ago

August 30, 2019

Marijuana Decriminalized In New York

The state of New York just made a major and historic move that will change things for a lot of people. Marijuana has officially been decriminalized statewide but you should know that there are still ways you can get caught up if you don’t follow certain rules.

CBS reported that residents in The Big Apple who have low-level marijuana convictions will see their records wiped clean.

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The publication details how the new law will affect nearly 14,000 people from the five boroughs with another 11,000 others statewide.

Marijuana has indeed been legalized throughout the state of New York, however there are still major caveats that could get you into trouble, so check out the breakdown of what the new law means.

Residents across the state of New York are allowed to publicly possess or use up to two ounces of marijuana without any criminal penalties.

“Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana for far too long, and today we are ending this injustice once and for all,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

“By providing individuals who have suffered the consequences of an unfair marijuana conviction with a path to have their records expunged and by reducing draconian penalties, we are taking a critical step forward in addressing a broken and discriminatory criminal justice process.”

The new law also changes Marijuana Possession in the Fifth Degree from a low-level misdemeanor to a non-criminal violation. This means that police can’t arrest people but can only issue summonses possibly leading to fines.

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The new maximum penalty is now $50 for possessing less than one ounce of pot and a maximum of $200 for between one and two ounces.

What’s your take on this new law ?