As NORML's "Money Can Grow on Trees" ad began lighting up Times Square, a 15% increase in New York City pot arrests was announced at a high noon press conference and rally on Mar. 16 at City Hall featuring NORML's Allen St. Pierre, Dr. Harry Levine, Dr. Julie Holland, Dana Beal and Doug Greene.

“Even though New York State decriminalized marijuana in 1977, New York City has become the marijuana arrest capital of the world,” said Empire State NORML's Greene regarding the hike in arrests from 40,383 to 46.400, the highest total since 2000 when Rudolph Guiliani was mayor.

"It's an awful, racist, unfair and unjust policy," added Levine, who teaches at Queens College and has been been tabulating and extrapolating about New York's pot arrest totals for the last few years. More than 80% of the bustees are African American and Hispanic.

St. Pierre arrived from Washington, where he runs NORML's national office. "Eighteen times a day our 15-second ad calls for the legalization of marijuana," he beamed about the 15-second spot featured on the CBS Super Screen at 42 St. and 7th and 8th Aves. "We're hoping to get them to run the ads at twenty after the hour."

Here are the times to see the ad: (AM) 12:11, 6:11, 9:10, 10:10, 11:09; (PM) 12:09, 1:08, 2:08, 3:07, 4:07, 5:06, 6:06, 7:29, 8:28, 9:28, 10:27, 11:27.

More Empire State News:

• Beal discussed the upcoming Global Marijuana March on May 1, which has expanded to 257 cities and he predicted will surpass 300. New York stoners will march to Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza across from the U.N. and call for the repeal of the Single Convention treaty.

• New York Patients First kicked off a dramatic billboard ad campaign (above) in support of New York's medical-marijuana bill, which passed the Senate Health Committee in February and rhe Codes Committee on Mar. 23. "I think there is a very real chance that sometime in the next days or a few weeks, that medical marijuana could actually be enacted in New York," says the bill's longtime Assembly sponsor Richard Gottfried.

• The Sienna Research Institute in Albany reported that 50% of New Yorkers support medical marijuana. Forty-one percent are opposed and 9% are undecided.



Also see:
Medical Marijuana on the Move
Gil Kerlikowske's Reefer Madness
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