账单30天前签署成为法律今天生效，大麻持有部分合法化。纽约州的居民可以公开持有或吸食最多两盎司的大麻，而不会受到刑事处罚。
新法律将少量大麻的持有从低级轻罪变为非刑事违法。这意味着警察不能逮捕人，但他们可以发出传票，这可能导致罚款。
持有少于一盎司大麻的最高罚款为50美元，持有一至两盎司大麻的最高罚款为200美元。尽管这项法律看起来是进步的一步，但漏洞和问题没有得到解决，这意味着许多警告仍然存在，可能会对全州有色人种产生不成比例的影响。
“长期以来，有色人种社区受到大麻法律的不成比例的影响，并遭受不公平大麻定罪的终身后果，”库莫州长在一份报告中说声明星期三。
纽约州毒品政策联盟副州长梅丽莎·摩尔告诉记者新闻周刊周四，该法案有两个不同的组成部分:非刑罪化和驱逐。“驱逐片存在“真的很重要，”摩尔说，“因为这是自动的——不需要支付律师费用，或者类似的费用。“到2020年7月，低水平大麻收费应该会自动取消。
2018年5月5日，纽约曼哈顿，一名男子在参加世界大麻合法化游行时抽大麻。大麻或大麻游行是一个国际日，旨在抗议世界范围内的禁令和支持合法化。(爱德华多·穆尼奥斯·阿尔瓦雷斯/可视新闻/科尔比通过盖蒂图像)
然而，摩尔对法律的非刑罪化方面感到担忧，并表示这还不够。
以下是一些需要了解的事情:
违法行为不是刑事定罪，但可能会产生重大后果。艾玛·古德曼，法律援助协会的律师，讲述 哥特人周三，“它仍然会出现在你的记录中，并且会和你在一起很长一段时间。”她补充道，“它会影响你获得工作和住房的能力，以及所有刑事定罪可能影响的事情。”
该法案并没有消除大麻的气味作为停止或搜查的理由。这是一个主要的漏洞，可以允许继续执行大麻禁令并与社区互动。
摩尔说，如果这一前提仍然存在，该法案的其余部分将是“一个悬而未决的问题”，因为使用大麻气味作为正当理由的能力是建立在对个人——即有色人种——的执法给予高度自由裁量权的基础上的目标一致被警察逮捕。
你仍然可以被逮捕并带到警察局。法律仍然有效允许如果被指控的违法者没有出示身份证件，或者来自国外，警察将对其进行拘留。
任何地方吸烟都是违法的，吸大麻也是违法的。这意味着大多数室内空间都是禁区，所有公园、海滩、校园、地铁站和许多其他室外公共空间也是如此。
尽管纽约的新法律是一个很大的变化，但该州值得注意的是未能完全合法化今年夏天早些时候大麻。尽管库莫州长去年表示支持合法化，但该州立法机构在6月立法会议结束前无法就一项潜在法案达成一致。
NEW YORK DECRIMINALIZED MARIJUANA. DOES THE NEW LAW GO FAR ENOUGH?
Abill signed into law 30 days ago takes effect today, partially decriminalizing marijuana possession. Residents across New York state can publicly possess or smoke up to two ounces of marijuana without criminal penalties.
The new law changes possession of small amounts of marijuana from a low-level misdemeanor to a non-criminal violation. That means police can't arrest people, but they can issue summonses that could lead to fines.
The maximum penalty is $50 for possessing less than one ounce of cannabis and the maximum fine is $200 for holding between one and two ounces. While the law may seem like a progressive step, loopholes and issues left unaddressed mean many caveats remain that could disproportionately affect people of color throughout the state.
"For too long communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana and have suffered the lifelong consequences of an unfair marijuana conviction," Governor Cuomo said in a statement on Wednesday.
Melissa Moore, New York's deputy state director for Drug Policy Alliance told Newsweek on Thursday that there are two distinct components of the bill: decriminalization and expungement. "The expungement piece is really important," Moore said, "as it will be automatic–it doesn't require paying for a lawyer, or anything like that." By July 2020, low level marijuana charges should be automatically expunged.
A man smokes a joint as People attend the World March for Cannabis legalization on May 5, 2018 in Manhattan, New York . The Cannabis or Marijuana March is an international day to protest against prohibition and support the legalization world wide. (Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images)
Moore is concerned, however, with the decriminalization aspect of the law, and says it does not go far enough.
Here are some things to know about it:
A violation isn't a criminal conviction, but it can have significant consequences. Emma Goodman, a lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, told Gothamist on Wednesday, "It's still something that shows up on your record and stays with you for a very long time." She added, "And it can affect your ability to get jobs and housing and all of the things that criminal convictions can affect."
The bill does not remove the odor of marijuana as justification for a stop or search. This is a major loophole and could allow for continued enforcement and interaction with communities over marijuana prohibition.
The rest of the bill is "a moot point" if this premise still exists, Moore said, as the ability to use odor of marijuana as justification is based on a high level of discretion given to law enforcement relating to individuals—namely younger people of color—who have been consistently targeted by police.
You can still be arrested and brought to the police station. The law still allows police officers to take accused violators into custody if they fail to show identification, or if they are from out of state.
