Posts belonging to Category new york

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Former Nickelodeon child star Amanda Bynes was arrested Thursday evening in New York City, charged with tampering with physical evidence, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of marijuana. Building officials at her apartment called police to commplain she was rolling and smoking a joint in the lobby.

"There was a 911 call at her apartment building that someone was smoking marijuana in the lobby," NYPD spokesman Det. Brian Sessa told ABC News. Once police arrived, a building official took them upstairs to Bynes' apartment and she let them inside, according to Sessa.

"There was a heavy smell of marijuana," Sessa claimed. "[Then] she took the bong and threw it out the window."

She then told police "It was just a vase," according to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Chikaelo Ibeabuchi, reports Colleen Long of The Associated Press.

"My client completely denies illegally throwing anything out of her window," said Andrew Friedman, Bynes' attorney for the arraignment.

The alleged bong has not been recovered form the street 36 floors below, the NYPD had to admit.

Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in criminal court, where the judge released her on her own recognizance and gave her a July 9 court date.

read more

New Poll: At Least 60% of All Voters Continue to Call for Fixing Marijuana Possession Laws, Including Half of Republicans; Poll is Third This Year Showing Strong Majority Support for Reform

Thousands More New Yorkers Have Been Arrested – at Cost of Estimated $7.5 Million – for Possessing Small Amounts of Marijuana Since April 1 When Reform Talks Failed During Budget Negotiation

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Members of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus on Wednesday gathered with community groups to demand an end to the biased, costly and deceptive practice of falsely arresting tens of thousands of people in New York for low-level marijuana possession every year.

Dozens of advocates and impacted people from around the state joined them at a press conference and rally to urge passage of sensible marijuana decriminalization legislation, A.6716A (Camara)/S.3105A (Squadron). The proposal would decriminalize possessing up to 15 grams of marijuana in public view; smoking in public would remain a misdemeanor.

Community members and elected officials are demanding that leadership in Albany make fixing this law a top priority. The bill would help end the practice of arresting tens of thousands of young people per year for possessing marijuana in public view when police demand that someone “empty their pockets” during a stop-and-frisk encounter.

read more

New Poll: At Least 60% of All Voters Continue to Call for Fixing Marijuana Possession Laws, Including Half of Republicans; Poll is Third This Year Showing Strong Majority Support For Reform

Thousands More New Yorkers Have Been Arrested – at Cost of Estimated $7.5 Million – for Possessing Small Amounts of Marijuana Since April 1 When Reform Talks Failed During Budget Negotiation

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Members of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus on Wednesday, May 22, will gather with commuity groups to demand an end to the biased and costly practice of falsely arresting tens of thousands of people in New York for low-level marijuana possession every year.

Dozens of advocates and impacted people from around the state will join them at a press conference and rally to urge passage of sensible marijuana decriminalization legislation, A. 6716A (Camara)/S. 3105A (Squadron). The proposal, introduced at the request of Governor Cuomo, would decriminalize possessing up to 15 grams of marijuana in public view, though smoking in public would remain a misdemeanor.

Community members and elected officials are demanding that leadership in Albany make fixing this law a top priority. The bill would help end the practice of arresting tens of thousands of young people per year for possessing marijuana supposedly "in public view" when police demand that someone “empty their pockets” during a stop-and-frisk encounter.

read more

Medical Marijuana Patients and Advocates Call for Immediate Passage of New York’s Bill

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A poll released on Monday by the Siena Research Institute found that 82 percent of New York voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill people to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if recommended by a doctor.

The poll of 623 registered voters also found that Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to support medical marijuana – for both groups, support registered at 81 percent. Meanwhile, members of the Independence and other parties showed even greater support (89 percent), and even 77 percent percent of self-described conservatives were in favor.

A proposal currently pending before the New York Legislature, the Compassionate Care Act – A.6357 (Gottfried) / S.4406 (Savino) – would allow healthcare practitioners to talk to their patients about medical marijuana and certify those with serious, debilitating illnesses so that they may have access to a small amount of medical marijuana to relieve their symptoms. The bill, which would create one of the nation’s most tightly regulated medical marijuana programs, also has the support of hundreds patients and healthcare providers and dozens of organizations across the state.

read more

Medical Marijuana Patients and Advocates Call for Immediate Passage of New York’s Bill

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A poll released on Monday by the Siena Research Institute found that 82 percent of New York voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill people to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if recommended by a doctor.

The poll of 623 registered voters also found that Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to support medical marijuana – for both groups, support registered at 81 percent. Meanwhile, members of the Independence and other parties showed even greater support (89 percent), and even 77 percent percent of self-described conservatives were in favor.

A proposal currently pending before the New York Legislature, the Compassionate Care Act – A.6357 (Gottfried) / S.4406 (Savino) – would allow healthcare practitioners to talk to their patients about medical marijuana and certify those with serious, debilitating illnesses so that they may have access to a small amount of medical marijuana to relieve their symptoms. The bill, which would create one of the nation’s most tightly regulated medical marijuana programs, also has the support of hundreds patients and healthcare providers and dozens of organizations across the state.

read more

Marijuana-like medicines that lack the plant's psychoactive properties can be used to effectively treat some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

marinetrainer-shutterstock.jpg

read more

Marijuana-like medicines that lack the plant's psychoactive properties can be used to effectively treat some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

marinetrainer-shutterstock.jpg

read more

Efforts to decriminalize marijuana in New York City-- the pot arrest capital of the world-- seem to be paying off.

stop-and-frisk-march.jpeg10-1280x960.jpg

read more

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The New York Legislature decriminalized marijuana in that state back in the 1970s. But simple marijuana possession is still the #1 cause of arrest in New York City, with 149,951 pot busts last year. What gives?

NYPD cops use the "public view" exception to the decrim law to trap people, that's what. Officers will misleadingly ask a suspect to "take the pot out of your pocket," and then bust them for "public display" of the weed, which ups what would have been a traffic ticket-like event into a violation with arrest and possible jail time.

More and more civil rights activists have noticed this disturbing phenomenon, and the NYPD is increasingly coming under pressure to stop its dishonest tactics when it comes to busting pot smokers. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried last year to remove the "public view" provision in the criminal code last year, reports John Surico at the Village Voice, and even NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has asked his officers to back off with the pot arrests, already.

Happily, it seems this is finally starting to have an impact, 35 years after decrim.

read more

New York's draconian sentencing laws, which became the template for the country, have been reformed somewhat. But they still have a long way to go.

26BOOK-articleLarge.jpg

read more