The New York City Police Department released third quarter data today on citywide marijuana arrested which revealed that while arrests continue to drop, New Yorkers from communities of color are still disproportionately targeted by police. The Legal Aid Society reaffirmed the need for Albany to pass the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which would help right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs.

“Black and Latinx New Yorkers are still disproportionately targeted by the police for low-level marijuana possession, which can trigger months and years of ICE detention and deportation, sever access to essential public benefits and result in the loss of one’s children to foster care,” Anthony Posada, Supervising Attorney of the Community Justice Unit at The Legal Aid Society tells POLITICO. “Immediately next session, Albany must enact the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act to legalize marijuana, expunge past convictions and to invest in the communities that have shouldered the brunt of prohibition. … The human cost is too high.”