Governor Cuomo has signed a bill that further decriminalizes Marijuana but does not fully legalize the drug. Possession of less than one ounce of marijuana will result in a $50 fine. Possession of between one and two ounces, which is currently a Class B misdemeanor, will become a violation resulting in a fine up to $200, according to The New York Times.

Additionally, the bill establishes procedures for automatic record expungement both retroactively and for future convictions.

Staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society, Emma Goodman, was tempered in her response to the new legislation, saying that the bill “does do two good things. It makes something that was a misdemeanor now a violation, and it automatically expunges misdemeanor convictions. That’s more than a lot of states have done. The problem is that it’s just getting rid of one very small amount of low-level offenses and it’s not actually legalizing marijuana…violations are still arrestable offenses in New York.”

“All of the collateral consequences of marijuana criminalization that harm communities of color will continue to exist,” she continued.

Learn more about The Legal Aid Society’s work sealing convictions through our Case Closed Project.