On November 23, 2012, Human Rights Watch published “A Red Herring,” a study of nearly 30,000 New Yorkers arrested for public marijuana possession that found few of them went on to commit violent crimes. The report challenged the claim by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration that the arrests helped control violent crime. Within a decade, New York stopped making those arrests and then legalized cannabis in 2021.
What Happened
The 33-page report, A Red Herring: Marijuana Arrestees Do Not Become Violent Felons, was written for Human Rights Watch by Jamie Fellner, senior adviser to its U.S. Program, with consultant Issa Kohler-Hausmann. Using New York State criminal records, the researchers followed people who had no prior convictions when they were arrested for possessing marijuana in public view in 2003 and 2004. They tracked their records until mid-2011.
The findings, as summarized in the Human Rights Watch release:
- 90 percent had no later felony conviction of any kind.
- 3.1 percent were later convicted of one violent felony.
- 0.4 percent had two or more violent felony convictions.
The report put the scale of enforcement at 586,320 arrests for this misdemeanor between 1996 and 2011, including about 100,000 in 2010 and 2011 alone, according to the federal NCJRS abstract. Most of the people arrested were young Black and Hispanic New Yorkers.
“Officials need to explain exactly how” the arrests reduce violent crime, Fellner said. Kohler-Hausmann said officials “have yet to identify” crime-control benefits that outweigh the costs.
Background
New York decriminalized private possession of up to 25 grams in 1977, but possession “in public view” stayed a misdemeanor. Critics said police created that public view themselves by asking people stopped on the street to empty their pockets, a pattern tied to the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program. This site covered one of the protests against the arrests, a May 2011 rally near Bloomberg’s home.
In June 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed making public possession of small amounts a non-criminal violation. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and all five city district attorneys supported it, but the bill did not pass. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said of the arrests that “the human cost to each one of these people and their families is serious and it is real.”
What Happened Next
The report did not change the law by itself, but the policy shifted step by step:
- August 12, 2013: In Floyd v. City of New York, federal Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration dropped the city’s appeal in January 2014.
- November 2014: De Blasio directed police to issue tickets instead of making arrests for most small-possession cases.
- May 2018: The Manhattan and Brooklyn district attorneys announced they would stop prosecuting most low-level marijuana cases.
- July 29, 2019: Cuomo signed a law making possession of up to two ounces a violation with fines as low as $50.
- March 31, 2021: Cuomo signed the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, legalizing adult possession and expunging many past marijuana records. The first licensed store opened December 29, 2022.
Dates for these steps are drawn from the sources cited in Cannabis in New York. National arrest trends over the same years are in our marijuana arrests by year page.
Where It Stands in 2026
Adults 21 and older in New York can now possess up to 3 ounces in public and buy from licensed dispensaries. The public-view misdemeanor that produced more than half a million arrests no longer exists for adults. Current rules are in our New York marijuana laws guide, and the federal picture is on our federal marijuana laws page. New York’s history goes back further: the city’s own La Guardia Committee report questioned marijuana’s dangers in 1944.
Human Rights Watch “A Red Herring” FAQ
What did the Human Rights Watch “A Red Herring” report find?
Of nearly 30,000 people with no prior convictions arrested for public marijuana possession in New York City in 2003 and 2004, 90 percent had no later felony conviction and 3.1 percent were later convicted of one violent felony.
When was “A Red Herring” published?
November 23, 2012.
How many marijuana possession arrests did New York City make?
The report counted 586,320 arrests for public possession between 1996 and 2011, about 100,000 of them in 2010 and 2011.
Is marijuana legal in New York now?
Yes. The Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, signed March 31, 2021, legalized possession for adults 21 and older, and licensed sales began in December 2022.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.