Video Testimonials Show the Human Cost of Stop-and-Frisk

New York is awaiting the outcome of a proposal by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to decriminalize public possession of small amounts of pot, in an effort to cut back on arrests made as a part of New York City’s controversial – and racially charged – stop-and-frisk policy.

Meanwhile, a new video campaign by the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for more liberal drug laws, gives a voice to a few of the 50,000-plus people wrongfully arrested in New York each year for marijuana possession because of stop-and-frisk. In the video below, Colyssa Stapleton describes how she was arrested in December, 2011 for possession – despite having no pot on her. The authorities also took her baby daughter away, and five months later she still hasn’t gotten her back.