City cash up in smoke in war on pot: Report

Alfredo Carrasquillo just wanted to relax after work.

The community organizer had a pocketful of weed for after his kids went to bed — but he didn’t make it home.

Booked for possession when Harlem cops pulled him aside, he spent the next two days in jail.

“I was honest and said I had a bag of weed on me,” Carrasquillo told Metro. Following the arrest, he said, “I pretty much try my best to dress professionally — and walk fast.”

Carrasquillo was one of 50,300 New Yorkers arrested last year for marijuana possession, according to a Drug Policy Alliance report released yesterday.

At a press conference, Council members said cops should find something better to do than bust 20-somethings.

Nearly 70 percent arrested are under 30, and 87 percent are black or Hispanic, the group reported.

Total for taking in tokers? The city spent $75 million last year, the Alliance calculated.
Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams said cops stop people who look suspicious, finding pocketed pot in “bogus arrests.”

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly defended the arrests, responding to the report at a Council budget hearing to argue that the money spent on arrests keeps the city safe.

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter at @AlisonatMetro.