Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #PassTheMRTA
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1/THREAD: Recreational Marijuana legalization just passed the NYS Legislature! What does this mean for immigrant NYers? #PassTheMRTA #MarijuanaJustice
2/Marijuana-related activity has been a major factor dragging immigrants into the arrest-to-deportation pipeline. After years of organizing by immigrant advocates, criminal legal system advocates, & others, New York passed the MRTA! bit.ly/3fu23ux #MarijuanaJustice
3/MRTA includes big changes to NY law, including:
-legal possession of small amounts of marijuana for ppl 21+
-Creation of an NY licensing system to allow ppl & businesses to sell marijuana
-Expanded access to medical marijuana for many NY'ers
#PassTheMRTA #MarijuanaJustice
-legal possession of small amounts of marijuana for ppl 21+
-Creation of an NY licensing system to allow ppl & businesses to sell marijuana
-Expanded access to medical marijuana for many NY'ers
#PassTheMRTA #MarijuanaJustice
🚨 MARIJUANA JUSTICE. A deal has been reached. This isn’t merely “legalization.” It’s also repairing the harm exacted on Black & Brown communities. A model for the nation. Early this week, the NY legislature will vote. Then onto Gov. Cuomo. Thread w/ more: nytimes.com/2021/03/25/nyr…
In NYC, the average marijuana arrest rate among high marijuana arrest precincts is 15 times higher than low arrest precincts. Between 2010-2019, there were 8 times as many arrests of Black and Latinx people as white people for marijuana. 
In Buffalo, the average marijuana arrest rate among the high marijuana arrest zip codes is 68 times higher than that of the low arrest zip codes, and there were 3 times as many marijuana arrests of Black people as there were of white people. #PassTheMRTA
🚨RIGHT NOW: NY is on cusp of finally legalizing marijuana. But there's a hold up. Gov. Cuomo is *insisting* cops still get to claim an "odor" to justify racist searches. Public defenders know that the "odor of marijuana" drives broken windows policing. No!nytimes.com/2019/09/12/nyr…
NY Judge in 2019: "The time has come to reject the canard of marijuana emanating from nearly every vehicle subject to a traffic stop. So ubiquitous has the claim become that it should be subject to a heightened level of scrutiny if it is to supply the grounds for a search.”
"One woman who served on a grand jury in Brooklyn recalled hearing officers in 2 separate cases claim to have 'detected a strong odor of marijuana' and use it as justification for a stop or a search. 'They said it very formulaically.'"
🚨RIGHT NOW: NY is on cusp of finally legalizing marijuana. But there's a hold up. Cuomo is *insisting* cops still be able to lie about smelling an "odor" to justify racist stops & searches. Public defenders know that the "odor of marijuana" drives broken windows policing. No!
NY Judge in 2019: "The time has come to reject the canard of marijuana emanating from nearly every vehicle subject to a traffic stop. So ubiquitous is the claim, it should be subject to a heightened level of scrutiny to supply the grounds for a search.” nytimes.com/2019/09/12/nyr…
"One woman who served on a grand jury in Brooklyn recalled hearing officers in 2 separate cases claim to have 'detected a strong odor of marijuana' and use it as justification for a stop or a search. 'They said it very formulaically.'"
THREAD: Andrew Cuomo wants to take a victory lap & be a "hero" again for trying to legalize marijuana in NY. But *marijuana justice is more than just legalization.* It must be done w/ equity, reinvestment, & justice to begin to undo the damage of prohibition. His proposal fails.
Marijuana criminalization has devastated Black & Brown communities. Criminal records. Broken windows. Jail & prison. Feeling imprisoned on your block. Excluded from housing. Precluded from work & education. Any plan for legalization that doesn't attempt to fully repair is wrong.
Even though NYC claims to have stopped arresting people for possession, (a) it's not true & (b) the claimed "odor of marijuana" continues to drive racist broken windows policing. Racial disparities have only increased. Continued damage done. Saw it as a PD:
