Start SMART NY – Sensible Marijuana Access through Regulated Trade – is the campaign dedicated to ending marijuana prohibition in New York. We believe that it is time to stop the ineffective, racially biased, and unjust enforcement of marijuana prohibition and to create a new, well-regulated, and inclusive marijuana industry that is rooted in racial and economic justice.

New York’s marijuana policies are broken. Prohibition has done more harm than good. Arrests prohibit individuals from fully participating in society, inhibiting their ability to get a loan, get a job, go to college, or even have a place to live. Start SMART NY is more than a call to action, it is a demand for a new approach. We believe that while legalizing marijuana for adult use won’t alleviate all the challenges faced by those communities who are most criminalized, it will remove a tool that has been used for their criminalization.

We also believe that marijuana reform is criminal justice reform and immigration reform, and that it is entwined with economic justice and at the nexus of racial justice. Further, we understand that in finding a SMART way to end prohibition and move forward into a new era -- we must also look back and repair the harm that’s been caused.

Our campaign goals are: to end senseless marijuana arrests and citations, create a public dialogue on collateral consequences and the hyper-criminalization of communities, transform stigma, and build economic power. And we believe that all of this CAN be done while also inhibiting access for minors, putting state tax dollars to better use, creating new jobs, and generating millions in tax revenue.

Prohibition is broken. Legalization is coming. Let’s Start SMART.