As laws on marijuana use and possession lax throughout America, tokers are getting more and more ballsy about smoking in public, even when the police are watching. Though just a handful of states have legalized recreational smoking, including Washington State, Washington D.C., Alaska, Oregon and Colorado, smokers in other states are starting to light up out in the open, even if it gives innocent bystanders a contact high.
The New York Times just published an telling article detailing how brazen pot smokers have become in the streets of the Big Apple. And the city is starting to stink.
“It’s Our Right”—Right?
“Long time ago they used to hide and do it, and now they are doing it out in the open,” Tanya Polite, 49, told the Times. “I smell it a lot. I smell it and go, ‘Pee-ew!’ The smell is so powerful, when you inhale it you get like a contact — a dizzy spell.”
A bit rude, isn’t it? At least when people are drinking booze on the streets of Vegas, you can’t get a contact buzz.
But given the legalization trend sweeping through the country, many pot smokers believe it’s just around the corner for New York City, and if that’s the case, why not light up now?
John Jay, a 25-year-old New Yorker, told the Times that he smokes in public freely because “Here in New York City, because we know it’s legal in other states, we kind of have that feeling the legalization of marijuana is spreading across the nation, and it’s going to come regardless.”
The Police Are Going Soft
Despite the fact that smoking in public is still absolutely illegal in New York and punishable by a fine and up to three months in jail, arrests for marijuana use and possession have taken a nose dive in the past year.
In 2014, over 26,000 people were arrested in New York for smoking in public or possessing more than 25 grams, but as of September of 2015, the number of pot-related arrests for the year totaled just 12,500. The drop is in part due to the announcement by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton that the police would not arrest anyone caught with less than 25 grams. Instead, the authorities will issue tickets if they so choose, and these have climbed in 2015.
The police also put the kibosh on a “stop-and-frisk” policy if they suspected someone might have weed stashed on their person, which added to the drop in arrests. Not surprisingly, though, the overwhelming number of arrests—89 percent—put blacks and Hispanics in cuffs, not whites.
“Somebody who grew up and has lived most of their life in a largely white area, is used to having the police ignore this behavior,” Harry G. Levine told the NYT. Levine is a professor of sociology at Queens College and a researcher with the Marijuana Arrest Research Project, which tracks marijuana laws. He added, “Then they come to the big city, and it’s: ‘Woo woo woo! It must be more liberal here!’”
Use Some Manners, Please
It’s true that the legalization trend will likely continue to spread throughout the US, first with liberal states like New York. But at one point tokers are going to have to learn some basic etiquette and common courtesy. Not everyone wants to smell that shit.
For those of us who used to smoke (that would be me), the scent of freshly burnt weed can be a serious trigger. I’ve experienced this countless times while walking and driving around in Los Angeles, not to mention Mexico. It’s my responsibility to not pick up a pipe, but when people light up and exhale in public, it feels akin to blowing cigarette smoke in someone’s face. But it turns out it’s actually even worse, since it’s recently been proven that just inhaling pot second-hand can give you a buzz.
The least these guys can do is smoke at home…maybe with tape on the windows?
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