The New York Police Department is planning to revamp its guidelines regarding people caught with marijuana in their possession, saying they might just issue tickets instead of arresting them.

The change in their policy is reportedly linked to the city's reputation for arresting a lot of citizens annually who are found to have small amounts of marijuana, according to the New York Times on Sunday.

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These people who will be ticketed, in case it will push through, would be issued court summonses. The high the number of arrests dubbed as "excessive stop-and-frisk practices" has become a prominent issue in the city.

The planned changes also mark a new system as Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken control of New York city.

However, police commissioner William J. Bratton released a statement pressing that he would still make low-level marijuana arrests despite the surface of the reports.

De Blasio's administration is reportedly still reflecting on this and the most affected community if and when the new law takes effect would be the blacks and the Latinos, who are usually the targets of the low-level arrests.

According to the data gathered written by the director of the Marijuana Arrest Research Project, Harry G. Levine, from January to August this year, there have already been 86 percent of people arrested related to marijuana possession from the communities of the blacks and the Latinos.

Questions have then surfaced asking the administration of de Blasio about the details of the changes. First is how much should a packet weigh for the user to not be arrested, and another concern is there a difference between a lit marijuana and those found in a pack, which is basically unsmoked.  

The finalization of the law will be done within this week as de Blasio is said to be discussing it at the City Hall first and would open it to the five district attorneys of New York to talks about other legal matters. 

TagsNYPD, marijuana, Bill de Blasio, marijuana possession, revamped guidelines, marijuana arrestsa