Brooklyn Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession

District Attorney, Ken Thompson, of Brooklyn New York announced this week that anyone without a criminal record who is caught with marijuana in Brooklyn will only receive a $100 fine as opposed to being arrested.

This comes as great news to marijuana advocates in the Northeast who have seen over 600,000 people arrested in New York alone for marijuana possession in the last 15 years.

The New York Times was able to get their hands on a confidential policy memo sent to the NYPD from D.A. Thompson that announces their hopes that “individuals, and especially young people of color, do not become unfairly burdened and stigmatized by involvement in the criminal justice system for engaging in nonviolent conduct that poses no threat of harm to persons or property.”

Activists will hold a rally on the steps of the building where Thompson’s office is located to applaud the District Attorney for taking strides to stop the incarceration of non-violent offenders across New York.