For young Black men like Justin Sullivan, growing up in Harlem in the 2000s came with regular harassment from the police, making it risky to use marijuana.
But when he started making white friends who also smoked weed, he learned that they were not under the same scrutiny.
“That’s when I started seeing how I was vilified for cannabis,” Mr. Sullivan, now 34, said in an interview.
Now, state cannabis regulators have created an interactive map from 1.2 million marijuana arrests conducted across the state over the last four decades as a guide to which neighborhoods qualify.
Harlem, once a hotbed of drug arrests, is pinpointed in the mapping tool as a leading candidate for redress.
Persons:
Justin Sullivan, “, Mr, Sullivan
Locations:
Harlem, New York