NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Bill de Blasio says he wants the New York Police Department to stop arresting people for smoking cannabis in public and instead hand out summonses.
In a statement released Sunday, May 20, 2018, the Democratic mayor says the city must plan for the eventual reality of cannabis legalization and the “public safety, health and financial consequences involved.”
De Blasio says he still has his concerns, but that he must now focus on crafting the regulatory framework before legalization.
The mayor’s remarks came less than a week after he directed the police department in mid-May 2018 to overhaul its cannabis enforcement policies in the next 30 days.
