By a vote of 80 to 59 New York’s full Assembly has approved Assembly Bill 6716-A, a measure which decriminalizes the public display of up to 15 grams of marijuana, changing it from an arrestable misdemeanor to a simple civil infraction of $100. The measure would be a huge step towards ending to the travesty of New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy, which finds officers forcing an individual to empty their pocket, only to arrest them for public display once they bring any marijuana they might have out of their pocket. Cops use this method to skirt the state’s decriminalization law (possession of up to 25 grams in the State of New York isn’t a criminal offense).

The measure, which has been championed by the state’s governor, now moves to the Senate for consideration. A companion measure, Senate Bill 3105, remains pending.

Recent polling has found that 63% of New York State residents supported decriminalizing the public display of up to 15 grams of marijuana.

– TheJointBlog