The Staten Island district attorney is not on board with the push to stop prosecuting pot smokers.
DA Michael McMahon sounded a note of caution Wednesday, a day after his counterparts in Manhattan and Brooklyn said they’d stop prosecuting most marijuana possession and smoking charges.
“I took an oath to uphold the laws of the state of New York, and ultimately, this is an issue that should be decided in a more thoughtful and comprehensive way by the state Legislature, and not as a rushed reaction to the top news headlines of the day,” McMahon said.
“There are many tangential issues related to public safety and quality of life that should be considered in this discussion before any decisions are made.”
On Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio announced that the NYPD would come up with a plan to cut marijuana arrests, though details have yet to be determined.
Currently, cops give a summons instead of arresting someone if they’re found with marijuana in their possession.
But if they’re smoking weed in public, they get cuffed – and the NYPD has faced a torrent of criticism because the vast majority of those arrested are black and Latino.
Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance said that as of August, he will decline to prosecute possession and public smoking cases, with limited exceptions he’ll set after consulting with the city.
Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, who has since 2014 nixed some low-level marijuana cases, will similarly decline to prosecute all but a few.
Bronx DA Darcel Clark stopped short of declining to prosecute, but urged the NYPD to use summonses instead of arresting pot smokers.
McMahon said he’s waiting to see what policy the NYPD comes up with in the 30-day review it plans to conduct.
“I am looking forward to working with the NYPD and Mayor to be part of this discussion to ensure fairness in our justice system,” he said.
“Although I can envision a New York where (criminal) summonses are appropriate in certain marijuana cases, I will reserve commenting further until after the NYPD’s 30-day working group is complete.”
A rep for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown was also non-committal Wednesday.
“It is our understanding that Mayor Bill de Blasio has directed the New York City Police Department to review its policy and practices. We will await the results of that review,” said spokeswoman Meris Campbell.
More and more New York Democrats have gotten on board with legalizing marijuana outright. De Blasio and Gov. Cuomo have opposed legalization, but both have shifted in their rhetoric in recent weeks.
“We think legalization is virtually inevitable. It’s no longer a question of it, it’s a question of when,” said Bob Gangi of the Police Reform Organizing Project.
But he said he expected racial disparities to persist even if cops use summonses instead of arrests for public smoking, as well as in enforcement of other minor crimes. “The practices will continue to target low-income people of color for infractions that are virtually decriminalized in white communities,” he said.
