No More NYC Marijuana Arrests, Are Marijuana Charges going up?

As I read today’s headlines on www.vosizneias.com about there being no more NYC Marijuana Arrests, I ask myself, will the Marijuana charge go up? Many police officers do not want to book offenders for carrying small amounts of Marijuana, and therefore New York City maintains a modest charge rate of only 50,000 Marijuana charges a year. However now that officers will not be obligated under NYC policy to arrest and book such offenders, I suspect that Marijuana pink tickets will be on the rise.

As Mayor Bill De Blasio points out, the fines for Marijuana possession start out at $100. This new tidal wave of possession charges will boost the Mayer’s robust finance plan stemming from “Vision Zero”, which cuts the speed limit on NYC streets to 25 MPH.

While Marijuana possession charges are not technically criminal violations, the arrests do show up on the criminal arrest records and are visible to employers can complicate immigration proceedings.