The Norwood News, WFUV Radio, and BronxNet Television present a two-part series on the debate to legalize recreational marijuana use in New York State.

In 2003, 17-year-old Anthony Posada was thrown against a wall and held at gunpoint by two plainclothes NYPD detectives in Jackson Heights, Queens. With no uniform, Posada initially thought he was being robbed by two men.

“The feeling of powerlessness was stunning,” Posada said. “It was paralyzing. My experience with law enforcement up to that day was already one where I couldn’t say or do anything.”

The plainclothes detectives found a small amount of marijuana in Posada’s pocket. Posada was then taken to the local precinct and spent the night in jail before his hearing. Posada said the detectives were looking for any excuse to arrest him.

“There was no probable cause,” he said. “I was just another Latino going down the street at the wrong time and place.”

Now, as the debate rages over whether New York State should be next to legalize marijuana—with Governor Andrew Cuomo hinting over the possibility the measure is not completely removed from the budget due April 1—Posada believes there is a major racial disparity in marijuana arrests and charges. He’s seen it for himself as the supervising attorney for the Bronx-based Legal Aid Society’s Community Justice Unit, where he helps clients facing the same marijuana-related charges as he did when he was 17. The majority of his client base is black and Hispanic.

Posada said legalizing marijuana could change things for the better, but it’s not a quick fix. “Legalizing marijuana will not get rid of practices within policing that are blatantly racist, but it would take away one of those tools that contributes immensely to that,” Posada said.

“Marijuana Arrest Capital of the World”
Many see the legalization of recreational marijuana as a criminal justice issue. Despite generally proportional marijuana usage rates, blacks and Latinos are more likely to be arrested or issued summonses in the United States for marijuana possession. The same goes for New York City where Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last year the city issue summonses instead of making arrests for marijuana possession, except those who have past arrests or convictions.

Despite the decrease in marijuana-related arrests in 2018, the majority of those issued summonses for marijuana possession among blacks and Hispanics rose by the end of the year. Before the city’s announcement to end marijuana arrests, 81 percent of those issued summons were black and Latino. After the announcement, the same group accounted for 88 percent of summonses, according to NYPD data.

The NYPD said reductions in arrests and summonses is progress towards making the city safer. “The NYPD has dramatically reduced arrests and summonses for marijuana-related offenses. This new policy is an important step toward less intrusive enforcement while we continue to drive down crime to record lows and New York City remains the safest big city,” said an NYPD spokesman via email.

And although the number of arrests went down, the portion of blacks and Hispanics increased from 88 percent to 91 percent.

Summonses and arrests generally have the same results: fines, court appearances, and jail time for repeat offenders. Eli Northrup, associate special counsel for The Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit legal service for low-income residents, says the results of enforcement are not limited to those specific infractions. Convictions can lead to problems in immigration, housing, and family courts.

“If you have these convictions on your record, they can prevent you from moving forward,” he said. Northrup said he recently had a client who was unable to get housing because of a marijuana conviction from 2014. The bulk of clients represented by The Bronx Defenders are black or Latino. Northrup said a lot of his cases involve marijuana offenses.

With the marijuana Bronx Defenders wants records sealed so these offenses can’t follow their clients. This policy position reflects those of many in the New York State Legislature, as well as citywide office.

Marijuana’s Micro-Economics
Some advocates and lawmakers also want to see the tax revenue reinvested back to communities damaged by over-policing. Jag Davies, communications strategist for Drug Policy Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the war on drugs, said his organization wants to avoid the corporatization that the tobacco and alcohol industries went through.

“[W]e need to make it easy for people in those communities to have access to the legal marijuana industry so they can get jobs and own businesses,” said Davies.

Drug Policy Alliance has advocated for a micro-licensing structure, which would give licenses to small business marijuana growers. Davies said the policy would allow people who have been harmed by the drug war to participate in the economic benefits of legalization.

Local officials said they’re aware of racial disparities in the enforcement of marijuana laws. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark says she and other Bronx prosecutors are continuing to work on reducing the criminalization of marijuana, whether it’s legal or not.

“[U]ntil a change in the Penal Law occurs, when an arrest is made for marijuana possession and burning cases, I have instructed Assistant District Attorneys in my Office to decline to prosecute the arrest when only a marijuana charge appears on the complaint, and then direct the police officer to issue a summons,” said Clark, adding that expunging past marijuana related charges is important because of the unequal enforcement of marijuana possession.

“This helps us move forward by improving public safety, reducing collateral consequences, and creating a fairer and more equitable criminal justice system,” she said.

Editor’s Note: A televised forum dubbed “The Impact of Legal Weed” produced by BronxNet Television, in partnership with Norwood News, and WFUV Radio, can be seen at www.bronxnet.org.