Nevermind the fact that Kings County District Attorney Ken Thompson is trying to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana today, Brooklyn used to be a weed-haven until the early 1950s. Seriously, it used to grow freely in East New York, Cobble Hill and Williamsburg.
Gothamist unearthed photos from the Brooklyn Public Library showing "10 foot tall Cannabis sativa plants" just chilling in Brooklyn. Life was awesome until Sanitation Department Chief Inspector John E. Gleason ordered his "White Wing Squad" to shut things down, seizing 17,200 pounds of weed from Brooklyn alone in 1951.
Decriminalization won't lead to growers planting weed in the Brooklyn Civic Center again, but it will cut down on bullshit arrests and free law enforcement up to solve more serious crimes. The city—and the rest of the state—should embrace this (and the spirit of the '50s) ASAP.
RELATED: First We Feast - A Scientific Explanation of Why Weed Gives Us The Munchies
[via Gothamist]
