OPINION: Marijuana’s going legal, and nobody’s making a fuss!
This week, Governor Cuomo is expected to announce a plan to introduce legal medical marijuana in New York State.
Unlike some states, where marijuana can be prescribed for almost any minor condition (and many dispensers undoubtedly just wink at this prohibition), medical marijuana in New York is expected to be only available for serious conditions such as glaucoma and cancer. It will also be dispensed only at a select number of hospitals, rather than “dispensaries” like those in states like California, which often bear provocative names like “The Green Light District.”
Here in Brooklyn, our new district attorney, Kenneth Thompson, has said his office will not prosecute arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana, but will just give them non-criminal fines. “Too many young people are being arrested for low-level drug charges that leave a permanent stain on their records for what should be a violation,” Thompson said.