City Council members and drug policy advocates rallied in front of City Hall to oppose Mayor Bill DeBlasio's new marijuana-enforcement strategy.

Under the new policy, police will no longer arrest violators — unless they are on probation or parole or have no identification; or have an existing warrant or a documented history of violence.

The advocates expressed concern that these exceptions provide a loophole for the NYPD to continue what they say are racially-discriminatory policing practices that the mayor had promised to address. 

Chris Alexander of the Drug Policy Alliance said that by creating "these carve-outs that focus really on specific populations," the mayor's new policy is "essentially just sharpening the tool [the police] already had to focus their enforcement." 

City Council member Donovan Richards said he's worried that the policy will confuse some New Yorkers, especially those who fall under its exceptions.

For example, he speculated that someone on parole might hear that police aren't arresting people for smoking marijuana — and so they may think they're safe to smoke in public. But that's not the case for parolees. He said, "You could very much end up back in jail based on a low-level marijuana offense.”

The NYPD’s new marijuana enforcement strategy goes into effect this Saturday.