The Riverdale Press: Advocates applaud New York legalizing marijuana

“A number of the neighborhoods that were most targeted for marijuana enforcement are out here in the Bronx,” said Eli Northrup, a policy lawyer for The Bronx Defenders, a public defender non-profit that helps low-income Bronx residents. “We represent people every day who are affected by marijuana convictions. Even if marijuana policing has gone down in a certain sense, people who have convictions are affected in family court and immigration courts. Bronx residents have felt the effects for many years.”

Passing this bill, first and foremost, means the end of this unequal policing over marijuana, Northrup said. This particular bill stands out because of its provisions calling to reinvest in communities most impacted by the so-called “war on drugs.”

Read the full article here