If you were wondering where New York Police Department officers spend their time and resources, look no further.
DETAILS: Say What?! NYPD Spent 1 Million Hours Making 440,000 Marijuana Arrests Over Last Decade
Just last week, a report prepared by Dr. Harry Levine, Professor of Sociology at Queens College, showed that the New York Police Department spent 1 million hours making 440,000 arrests for low-level marijuana possession charges over the last decade.
Get this. The report also shows that between 2002 and 2012, the people arrested by NYPD for marijuana possession have spent 5,000,000 hours in police custody over the last decade.
Talk about a misuse of resources, power, money and time! But furthermore, the war on drugs has turned into something even more menacing than a waste of time. It’s become a war on race and class.
But the new report isn’t actually new news. For years, celebrities, advocates and organizations have made it a point to call out the war on drugs for what it really is. And our own Russell Simmons has been one of those voices calling for an end to the war on drugs…which he calls the “new slavery.”
In a matter of days, Uncle Rush will propel a new campaign aimed towards tackling the problems the drug crusade creates.
Don’t think it’s that big of a deal? A waste of time and money put aside, check out some of the injustices below.
- – New York City has made more marijuana possession arrests under Mayor Michael Bloomberg than under mayors Koch, Dinkins and Giuliani combined.
- – Nearly 70% of those arrested for marijuana are younger than 30 years old, and over 50% are under 21 years old. These young people receive a permanent criminal arrest record which can be easily found on the internet by employers, banks, schools, landlords, and others.
- – These arrests are costing New Yorkers more than $75 million per year, and over $650 million during Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure.
- – Even though young whites use marijuana at higher rates, over 85% of the people arrested and jailed for marijuana possession are black and Latino.
We’re sure there are more effective things for the police to spend their time on in the New York streets.
DETAILS: Puff Puff Pass! Mayor Bloomberg To Decriminalize Marijuana In NYC!
Or all over the nation for that matter!
SOURCE: DrugPolicy.org
