As of today, August 28, marijuana is officially decriminalized across the state of New York.
The law, which was signed by Governor Cuomo at the end of July, states that those in possession of less than two ounces of marijuana will not receive criminal penalties. As Governor Cuomo mentioned in a statement earlier, the new legislation is “a critical step forward in addressing a broken and discriminatory criminal justice process.”
Moving forward, the penalty for possessing less than an ounce will be a fine of up to $50, and up to $200 if found in possession of one-to-two ounces. Additionally, NYS residents who have been convicted of low-level marijuana possession will have their records expunged. According to a report by CBS, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services estimate that the number of those who qualify will be about 25,000 (with 14,000 in NYC’s five boroughs and 11,000 throughout the rest of the state)!
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