(Newser) – New York City is loosening up on how it treats those picked up with a small amount of marijuana, reports Daily Intel. No longer will they have to spend the night in jail—instead, they'll get a desk appearance ticket to return to court at a later date. "It's consistent with the law, it's the right thing to do, and it will allow us to target police resources where they're needed most," said Mayor Bloomberg in announcing the shift during his state-of-the-city address. He also backed Gov. Cuomo's push to decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot.

Bloomberg, however, wasn't so flexible on another high-profile issue—the city's controversial stop-and-frisk policy, reports DNA Info. It works, said the mayor, and it's not going to stop. "I understand that innocent people don't like to be stopped. But innocent people don't like to be shot and killed, either." Click for the full text of his speech. (Read more marijuana stories.)

