New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Moves to End Arrests for Smoking Weed A City Hall aid told CNN de Blasio has directed police officers to stop arresting people for smoking marijuana in public. Instead, de Blasio advised summonses be issued while the NYPD works to evaluate its marijuana enforcement procedures. On May 15, In 2017, there were over 5,500 incidences of arrests for people smoking or possessing small amounts of marijuana, according to CNN.