NYC to Issue Tickets for Small Amounts of Pot in Lieu of Arrest | Henry Goldman

Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg. Marijuana plants for sale at The Green Solution dispensary in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 9, 2014.

Nov. 10, 2014 (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton directed officers to stop arresting people carrying small amounts of marijuana and to begin issuing ticket-like summonses instead.

Effective Nov. 19, anyone found with 25 grams (0.88 ounce) or less of the drug will get a summons requiring a court appearance. If found guilty, a violator will face a $100 fine for the first offense and $200 for a second, said Bratton, who joined de Blasio for a news briefing at the department’s lower Manhattan headquarters today.

“This is an example of another important step both for keeping the people of New York City safe and building a closer relationship between police and the community,” de Blasio said.

The 53-year-old Democrat campaigned last year vowing to curtail stop-and-frisk practices, in which almost 700,000 persons, mostly young minority men, were detained and questioned on the street. Tens of thousands of those actions led to arrests for marijuana possession, which de Blasio also criticized before assuming office Jan. 1.

READ MORE: Bloomberg