Pubdate: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 Source: New York Daily News (NY) Copyright: 2014 Daily News, L.P. Contact: http://www.nydailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/295 Author: Erin Durkin M-VIV: WEED OUT THIS LAW Sure I Toked, Recreational Use OK YES, THE speaker of the City Council has tried pot - and she thinks we should legalize it. Council Speak er Melissa Mark-Viverito says she supports legalization of pot, a split from her ally Mayor de Blasio. "It's appropriate at this time," she said. Days after Mayor de Blasio overhauled the city's marijuana policy, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito went further and called for outright legalization of the drug. "It's not something we can just do randomly, but with a thought process, and looking how it's being implemented in other areas. But I do support the legalization of marijuana," she said at City Hall. The stance makes Mark-Viverito the highest-ranked city official to support pot legalization - and puts her at odds with her ally de Blasio. She said she backs legalization for recreational use based on the experiences of other states that have made the move, like Colorado and Washington. "States are speaking," Mark-Viverito said. "Based on the conversations that we see happening nationally, and how people feel about it, I think that it's just something that is appropriate at this time." The speaker said she has used pot. "If you're asking whether I have smoked marijuana, yes," she said. The Council has no power to legalize pot, which would have to be done on the state level. A more modest proposal by Gov. Cuomo two years ago to decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot went nowhere, but the Legislature passed a medical marijuana bill last summer. Earlier this week, de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said that people caught with less than 25 grams of pot will now be slapped with a summons, instead of getting arrested. At that event, de Blasio - who during the campaign said he has smoked pot - said he doesn't support legalization, and Bratton emphatically opposed it. "I am not comfortable with the notion of legalization," de Blasio said, citing worries about "what marijuana can lead to in a young person's life and the problems that can come from it." The Drug Policy Alliance, a leading advocacy group, praised Mark-Viverito's stance. "Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito's announcement further proves that marijuana legalization is a mainstream issue," said Kassandra Frederique, the group's New York policy manager. "It is especially important that elected officials of color lead and frame this conversation as the harms of marijuana prohibition and criminalization overwhelmingly affect their communities," she added. [sidebar] LAWMEN SEE RISKS IN NIX THEY'RE MELLOW about the end of arrests for small amounts of pot, but some of the city's five district attorneys expressed concern after a sitdown with the mayor that ticketing could over burden the court system. Starting Nov. 19, cops will stop criminally charging people for holding less than 25 grams of weed, issuing summonses instead. Queens DA Richard Brown told reporters after the meeting with Mayor de Blasio that changing pot penalties isn't the issue. "I'm just fearful we're going to end up with a lot of bench warrants out there and a lot people being arrested as a result," he said. Staten Island's Daniel Donovan said the group, which included NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton,also discussed letting people pay tickets by mail. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom