New York City Wasting $75 Million a Year on Marijuana Arrests

New York city waste $75 million arresting people for having a minimal amount of marijuana, less than an ounce. It costs approximately $1,000 to $2,000 to arrest each person in possession of marijuana. The NYPD arrests more than 1,000 people a week mainly with their “stop and frisk” practices, which people have claimed are racially-biased due to the overwhelming number of NYC Latinos and blacks arrested compared to whites. The NYPD also use dishonest tactics, such as coercing people to reveal their marijuana by offering a lenient punishment for their cooperation or searching individual’s pockets without reason or permission.

Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has confessed to enjoying smoking marijuana, he has overseen more than 350,000 people arrested for possessing marijuana since he was elected in 2002, which has cost between $500 million to $1 billion to taxpayers. Marijuana possession is considered a minor offense with respect to penalty by the courts, but it can dramatically affect the individual’s life because their offense is permanently entered into criminal databases.

Title: New York City Wasting $75 Million a Year on Marijuana Arrests

Author: Jesse Levine

Source: Alternet, 3/15/11

URL: http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/150263

Student Researcher: Ashley Wood, Sonoma State University

Faculty Evaluator: Professor Don Romesburg, Sonoma State University