Finally! last moth a law was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo that would decriminalizing marijuana and it officially goes into effect today!
Some of the benefits of the new law include the expungement resident of new York that have lower level convictions related to marijuana, this includes over 25,000 people, 14,000 of those coming right from our own city. Under the new law people found with two ounces has been reduced to a fine of $200, with just an ounce resulting in a $50 fine, instead of it being considered a criminal offense.
In a statement from the Governor when he signed to bill, he expressed that this is a huge step for New York state but the end goal is getting Marijuana legalized, "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, 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."
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