suspects for possession in public view, which remains a misdemeanor. During a Terry stop, officers may falsely suggest that a suspect should voluntarily reveal contraband to avoid arrest, then arrest the suspect if he reveals cannabis to public view. In 2008, the New York Civil Liberties Union criticized the crackdown for its cost and scope, its reliance on stop-and-frisks and police coercion to escalate simple possession into an arrestable offense, and the disproportionate number of young, black and Latino males arrested. Impoverished neighborhoods One main criticism of these drug laws were that they put young minority males and females behind bars for carrying small amounts of drugs on them. These laws were a part of the "war on drugs" era and were meant to go after drug king pins, however it started to target lower level people as a means of keeping the streets clean. Elaine Bartlett and her story told in the book Life on the Outside critically depicts the effects of the Rockefeller Drug Laws and its policy on drug dealers. See also Law of New York References Further reading Julilly Kohler-Hausmann. 2017. Getting Tough: Welfare and Imprisonment in 1970s America. Princeton University Press. External links NPR program on the Rockefeller laws Entitled The Drug Laws That Changed How We Punish 2 hour MP3 Panel Discussion Critical of the Rockefeller Drug Laws NORML State by State Laws Guide New York Legislature to Vote on Overhauling Draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws Albany Reaches Deal to Repeal '70s Drug Laws 1973 in cannabis Cannabis in New York (state) Controlled substances in New York (state) Drug control law in the United States Nelson A. Rockefeller New York (state) law U.S. state criminal legislation