Frontrunner in the New York mayoral race Bill de Blasio told Hot-97's Perry Rosenberg on Thursday about marijuana a busts in New York: "I want a law passed in Albany that would end it and I would instruct the NYPD right now (to) stop arresting people for displays of small amounts. It's ridiculous. It doesn't make us safer."
De Blasio supports Gov. Cuomo's effort to reform New York's decrim law so that misdemeanor arrests for "in public view" is removed from the law. "(I) will ensure cases of marijuana found through police stops are treated as possession, not public displays," de Blasio says on his website. "Low-level marijuana possession arrests have disastrous consequences for individuals and their families."
Last year, there were 39,000 marijuana arrests in New York under Mayor Bloomberg and Police Chief Ray Kelly, down from 50,000 in 2011. De Blasio says he would also replace Kelly.
Public Advocate de Blasio leads City Council President Christine Quinn in the latest poll by a 36% to 21% margin.
