District Attorney Darcel Clark announced Thursday that her office is dismissing more than 6,000 misdemeanor marijuana cases.
“The Legislature has de–criminalized the possession and sale of small amounts of marijuana to right the wrong of disproportionate enforcement and arrests in communities of color like the Bronx,” Clark said. “We had long stopped prosecuting these offenses because they were not a threat to public safety, and they gave people a criminal record that had negative collateral consequences on employment, housing, education, and immigration.Our application today is part of my Office’s pursuit of justice with integrity.
There is no purpose in spending prosecutorial and judicial resources on conduct that the Legislature has de–criminalized.Since Article 221has been repealed, there is no longer any basis to continue the prosecution of open cases that contain a sole charge of misdemeanor marijuana possession and/or sale, or keep active warrants related to these matters, so we have moved to dismiss 6,089 cases.”
