News » New York City Spends At Least $75 Million A Year On Marijuana Arrests

While hinting at what you would expect to find, a recent report by the Drug Policy Alliance titled “$75 Million a Year” shows that New York City spends between $1,500 and $2,000 per misdemeanor marijuana arrest, but that only scratches the surface of what the report finds. In 2009 alone there were 50,300 – that is one in every seven arrests – meaning that the city spent between $75,450,000 and $100,600,000 to bust small time marijuana users.

When the duration is expanded to look at data from 1997 to 2010 the numbers are staggering – 536,000 NYPD arrests mean that the taxpayers of New York have spent at the very least $500 million and likely close to $1 billion arresting their fellow citizens.

The story gets worse when you consider that marijuana was decriminalized in New York state by the Marijuana Reform Act of 1977, which limits the first two offenses of possession of less than 25g of marijuana to a civil infraction and not a criminal charge. The law doesn’t not make possession a misdemeanor until the third arrest, or if the quantity is between 25g and eight (8) ounces. Possession over eight (8) ounces is a felony.

Want more disturbing facts?

Government funded studies show that whites typically use marijuana in greater percentages than other ethnic groups. You would be hard pressed to determine that by the arrests statics however – nearly 87% of those arrests are of black or Hispanic decent and about 70% are of people under the age of 30. This can have dire consequences on the life prospects of already at-risk inner-city minorities.

At a recent Bronx city hall news conference, resident Alfredo Carrasquillo voiced his concern.

“It stays on your record permanently,” he said. “When they ask you if you’ve ever been arrested, you have to say yes.”

Harlem Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito is similarly concerned over the statistics, but police commissioner Ray Kelly feels that the city’s actions are justified.

“If you think the law is not written correctly, then you should petition the state Legislature to change it,” Kelly said. “The law clearly says if you have marijuana in public view, you should be arrested. It’s a misdemeanor.”

[source $75 Million A Year, Drug Policy Alliance]

Tags: $75 Million A Year, arrests, DPA, Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Reform Act of 1977, Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York City, Ray Kelly