Behind Cuomo's Pot Decision

By admin Wed, 06/06/2012 - 15:57 Newsmarijuanapotstop and friskGovernor Andrew Cuomo
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The story behind the story:
 
WNYC's Ailsa Chang explains the events that led to Governor Cuomo's decision to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana.  Record numbers of arrests for simple possession in recent years have targeted mostly black and Latino men during stop and firsk searches. Chang reports that the new policy is still likely to be disproportionately enforced in communities of color:

"Even though studies show young whites smoke pot more, he notes, mostly young blacks and Latinos would be paying the hefty fines for marijuana in this city — about $100 per ticket.  And if they don't show up in court on the correct day to pay those fines, they could still be arrested."