The harms of marijuana prohibition have not been borne equally across New York. Communities of color have consistently been the most targeted and injured by the enforcement of marijuana laws. The targeting of these already under-resourced communities during cannabis prohibition has led to the disenfranchisement of thousands of black and brown families statewide and millions of families nationwide. 

Marijuana possession is one of the top misdemeanor arrests in New York State—and has been for the last twenty years. As a result, nearly one million New Yorkers have had contact with the criminal justice system – the overwhelming majority of whom—more than 80 percent— are Black and Latino, despite similar rates of consumption across racial and ethnic groups. Since 1996, there have been more than 

800,000 arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana in New York State, with over 700,000 arrests by the NYPD alone.  Nearly 70 percent of those arrested are under 30 years old, and more than a third are under 21 years old. On average, 60 people are arrested every day for marijuana possession in New York State, making marijuana possession one of the top arrests in the state.