BETWEEN THE LINES is the first podcast to shed light on the lives of women and girls in New York City through interviews with people who know them, interact with them, or are affected by them, including mothers of daughters and grandmothers of granddaughters that are gender nonconforming or transgender.
We want to provide a space where female voices can be heard without fear of judgment or exclusion.
If you have a story to tell or would like to share an interview request with us, please get in touch with bettle@bettle.org.
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NYC has more marijuana arrests per capita than any other large city in America.
You’ve probably heard New York City has the highest marijuana arrests per capita, but you might not know why.
In 2017, more than 11,000 people were arrested for cannabis possession in NYC alone. That is about 1% of all arrests made by police there!
If these numbers don’t get your attention, maybe this will: According to a report from The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Los Angeles County had over 100 times as many arrests for weed as New York City did last year.
There are many misconceptions about how much marijuana you can have on you and what’s legal.
There are many misconceptions about how much marijuana you can have on you and what’s legal.
Use your common sense with some tips from the NYPD.
What is legal?”
What is not legal.”
Where to get a medical marijuana card.
The most common way to get a medical marijuana card in New York is at a dispensary. You can also go to a doctor’s office or hospital, but this may be more difficult and less convenient. You can also get it at clinics or other medical facilities (like your local pharmacy).
Where to get a medical marijuana recommendation.
To get a medical marijuana recommendation, you must visit one of the following:
You can also find physicians who are not certified but have affinities towards cannabis research and/or advocacy groups like NORML or Americans for Safe Access. For example:
Working around the law or breaking it – but don’t let that stop you from getting your medicine.
If you want to work around the law and break it, by all means, do. But don’t let that stop you from getting your medicine.
When I was in college, my friends and I were all working jobs on campus while they were studying full-time, so we would go out after dinner and smoke weed together. It was illegal at that time—and still is—but we didn’t care because we knew how much better life was when we weren’t worrying about where our next meal was coming from or what would happen if someone found out about our secret illegal activity (which is why most of us kept it a secret).
We also knew that even though we technically broke the law by smoking cannabis, there was no way for anyone outside our group of friends who did have medical marijuana cards (and therefore could legally use cannabis) to get into trouble for helping us get high!
Marijuana laws have been changing and changing fast in NYC.
New York’s marijuana laws are constantly changing, and they’ve been changing fast since the 1990s.
The city has always been a leader in cannabis reform, but it wasn’t until the 2000s that NYC became known for its relaxed attitude toward cannabis consumption. Many credit Mayor Michael Bloomberg for bringing about this change—he signed into law what is now known as “the Marijuana Law Reform Act,” which decriminalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2002. This new law allowed adults 21 years or older to possess up to 25 grams (1 ounce) of weed within public view without fear of arrest or prosecution; however, selling any amount over five ounces was still illegal under state law at this time.
Legalizing medical marijuana in New York State represented an unprecedented opportunity for reformers to make a case for ending the War on Drugs. Still, recent changes in medical law have complicated that effort. The shift from medicinal use only is problematic since it creates a situation whereby recreational use is legal, yet obtaining any amount of marijuana is still a felony.
New York City has decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. As a result, you can be arrested even if caught with less than ten grams (less than three ounces). There are two exceptions: First, if you’re under age 21, or second if you have more than 25 plants growing at your residence (which would be considered one plant per person). This is likely why the NYPD does not make arrests for possession or sale of fewer than twenty grams – they’d instead arrest someone carrying twenty grams instead of stopping them for having ten grams. However, this may also mean that people are walking around with as little as two-tenths of an ounce and getting arrested – which could lead to issues.
The NYPD no more extends hands-out tickets for open containers but instead arrests people outright when they find bottles and other receptacles containing alcohol on the street. “Street stops” by police officers were first authorized by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration in 2005 but were only used sparingly before then; Bloomberg himself opposed the program because he thought it was too invasive and secretive. New York City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who introduced legislation in 2004 that required police officers to record information about street stops in their performance evaluations,” said later that year: “I was told by my staff: ‘You will never get this passed.’ That’s because many members of the rank-and-file police force strongly oppose these kinds of practices.” He added: “The same leadership who oversaw many illegal
