It will already be less risky to possess marijuana in New York City in 2013 after a Manhattan judge ruled against the NYPD's "stop and frisk" program. Well, okay, that applies to minorities, who were the only ones arrested and jailed for possessing small amounts of marijuana discovered during "stop and frisk" in the first place. But if New York governor Andrew Cuomo has his way, it won't be an issue for anyone in the state any longer.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Wednesday that his top priorities in 2013 will include the decriminalization of marijuana possession, one of the most frequent crimes committed in the state that sweeps up thousands of young people, especially minorities, every year.
"It's not fair, it's not right," Cuomo said. "It must end, and it must end now."
Of course, Cuomo has expressed his support for decriminalization before. A bill to decriminalize weed was nuked by Republicans in the New York Senate — all of whom, it should be noted, were white — last year, but Cuomo may have some momentum behind the proposal coming off of the "stop and frisk" ruling.
Whether that means the NYPD will just find new reasons to throw blacks and Latinos in prison remains to be seen, but a combination of the curbing of "stop and frisk" and the decriminalization of marijuana would theoretically keep many, many people out of handcuffs.
It also might mean that Sandra Lee, Cuomo's wife and famed food personality, may have to update some recipes.
[via Raw Story, image Getty]