Police Commissioner Calls on NYPD to Stop Improper Marijuana Arrests | WNYC

September 23, 2011—Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has issued an internal order to the New York City Police Department commanding officers to stop arresting people for small amounts of marijuana possession, if the marijuana was never in public view.  The directive comes at a time when the NYPD is taking increasing heat about alleged improper marijuana arrests.

[…] In New York, possession of small amounts of marijuana is only a criminal offense if it is displayed in public. Kelly’s order reminds officers that if marijuana comes into public view at the direction of an officer — either when an officer pulls the drug out of a person’s clothes or a person is ordered by an officer to empty out his pockets — it’s not a misdemeanor, and instead should only be treated as a violation, which is a ticketable offense. +