Public smoking of marijuana and marijuana possession arrests in New York City fell 1 percentage point in 2017 compared to 2016.

NYPD Leader Breaks Down City's New Marijuana Enforcement Policy

WNYC News | Aug 31, 2018

Starting Saturday, the NYPD will no longer arrest most people caught smoking marijuana in public. Instead, they'll simply issue summonses.

It's the centerpiece of a new marijuana enforcement strategy announced by Mayor de Blasio and NYPD leadership in June. "We want to be able to correct conditions out on the street," said Terance Monahan, NYPD Chief of Department.

He told WNYCs Jami Floyd, "Keeping people safe instead of processing an arrest on someone that really shouldn't go through our system." He said the NYPD estimates around 10,000 fewer people will be arrested under the new policy.

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