Despite a decline in marijuana arrests since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in 2014, Blacks and Latinos continue to make up a disproportionate number of those arrested for marijuana possession, according to a report commissioned by the Drug Policy Alliance.

The report, which used data from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, found the NYPD made more than 60,000 criminal arrests for the low-level marijuana possession in the first three years of the de Blasio administration. Blacks and Latinos accounted for 86 percent of those arrested, even though they make up about 55 percent of the city's overall population. About a third of the city is white but the report said just 10 percent of those arrested for marijuana possession were white.

The data is even more striking when broken down into police precincts. Harry Levine, a Queens College professor who authored the report, said police arrested 677 people for marijuana possession in the 30th precinct of Harlem during 2016. But it was a very different story on the predominately white Upper East Side, where only 14 people were arrested that year.

"They arrested four Blacks, three Latinos and seven white people," said Levine. "White people smoke marijuana all over the place but they do not get arrested because the cops are not out patrolling them."

He said studies have found whites and Blacks use marijuana at similar rates, and compared the disproportionate enforcement to Jim Crow laws.

Kassandra Frederique, New York State director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said these figures show Mayor de Blasio did not truly uphold his promise to end racially-biased policing.

"Mayor de Blasio, let me be very clear. Your time is up," she said, at a press conference outside City Hall. "You either end these arrests or we march all day."

The Drug Policy Alliance and representatives from other groups said the only solution is to legalize marijuana. They promised to make this an issue in the 2017 mayoral race.

At the end of 2014, the de Blasio administration announced that people caught with less than 25 grams of marijuana would no longer be arrested. Instead, they would receive a non-criminal violation in the form of a summons — also called a desk appearance ticket.

In 2016, the NYPD issued more than 20,000 summonses and made about 18,000 arrests for marijuana possession. By contrast, there were more than 30,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2013, the last year of the Bloomberg administration.

Austin Finan, a spokesman for Mayor de Blasio, said this approach is working. “This administration has led a dramatic shift away from unnecessary arrests for low-level marijuana offenses in favor of summonses," he stated. "The NYPD responds to quality of life offenses where and when they are observed, many of which are reported by members of the public.”

But Scott Hechinger, a senior staff attorney with Brooklyn Defender Legal Services, said even desk appearance tickets are onerous. In the weeks or months before someone appears in court, he said, they still have an open criminal record.

"Good luck finding a job, good luck finding housing, good luck being able to stay confident in your ability to stay in this country if you're an immigrant," he said, "either documented or undocumented."