In a decision that attorneys say could open the door to other class-action lawsuits, a petition has been approved to seal the criminal records of 350 people with marijuana misdemeanors in Manhattan.

America’s gone to pot, with the number of marijuana smokers spiking dramatically— even in states where it’s illegal — in recent years, a new study shows.

The number of folks who admitted to monthly weed use in states where the drug isn’t allowed recreationally has soared 33 percent since 2002, according to an analysis of federal data by the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

And the increase is even, well, higher — 47 percent — in states where lighting up is legal, according to the sprawling survey of all 50 states.

AS New York becomes the 16th American state to decriminalise the use of marijuana and countries around the world are changing their approach on use of the drug, campaigners are calling for the UK to overhaul its laws - at a time when Scotland’s drugs deaths have been revealed to be the highest in the world.

Step inside any given bodega on the streets of New York City and you’ll find displays for a variety of CBD products somewhere between the Horny Goat Weed and the Stackers 2s. Much like everywhere else in the United States, convenience stores, trucks stops and other places where people purchase gasoline and snacks or just ask to use the bathroom have stocked their shelves with hemp-derived CBD in hopes of striking it rich on one of the most insane trends to ever sweep the country.

Though New York residents will still have to wait for legal cannabis, the state made a big step forward this week by decriminalizing the plant.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Monday that decriminalizes cannabis use and will expunge criminal record related to cannabis offenses for some people.

The bill, which had been approved by the state legislature earlier this year, will reduce cannabis possession to a misdemeanor subject to a fine and any possession under two ounces will not be punished. Governor Cuomo has previously mentioned how these low-level marijuana charges have unfairly targeted minority groups in the state.

After months of will-they-won’t-they activity, both New Jersey and New York failed to deliver on legalizing adult-use cannabis. What once seemed to be foregone conclusions to many turned out to be two hard doses of reality that leaves citizens and lawmakers with a foul taste in their mouths. 

Instead of adult-use legalization, both have since pivoted to focus on expanding other cannabis parameters.

In New York, lawmakers flipped focus to expanding the state’s partial decriminalization law enacted in 1977. The move aims to address the social justice issues Governor Andrew Cuomo has championed since changing his opinion on legalization.

Vireo Health of New York (“Vireo” or the “Company”), a subsidiary of Vireo Health International (CSE: VREO), a leading physician-led, science-focused multi-state cannabis company, today announced that patients living in the New York City metro area, Westchester County, and Nassau County now have access to free, same-day marijuana delivery.

New York State officials are scrambling to figure out how to erase more than 200,000 criminal records for marijuana possession as a bill to strike those charges awaits Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature.

The state Division of Criminal Justice Services would have to seal 126,136 Class B misdemeanors charges statewide, along with another 76,053 violation convictions that had been previously unsealed by the courts, Newsday reported.

State lawmakers late last week advanced legislation to the Governor’s desk amending marijuana possession penalties and establishing procedures for the automatic expungement of prior, low-level cannabis convictions.

Unable to pass an anticipated bill to legalize marijuana in the state, New York’s state Senate and Assembly passed a bill on Thursday night to decriminalize the drug. Under the new regulation, small scale cannabis possession charges would be roughly equivalent to getting a parking ticket; $50 for under an ounce and $200 for under two ounces.

The bill was passed mere hours before the end of the Senate’s 2019 session, and passed the state Assembly on Friday morning shortly before that body recessed for the year.