of 1973. Even despite the steady drop in crime rates that took place in the 1990s, the effects of the Rockefeller Drug Laws were the most transparent where "high arrest rates and prison commitments for drug offenses continued to fill prison cells." Another criticism of the Rockefeller drug laws has also been its distinct targeting of young minority males for as of the year 2000, black and Hispanic males made up over 90% of the population incarcerated by the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Michigan moderation Michigan's statute was reformed somewhat in 1998, with the mandatory life sentence being reduced to a 20-year minimum. New York moderation in 2004 and 2009 On December 14, 2004, New York Governor George Pataki signed into law the Drug Law Reform Act (DLRA) (2004 N.Y. Laws Ch. 738 (effective January 13, 2005)), which replaced the indeterminate sentencing scheme of the Rockefeller Drug Laws with a determinate system. The DLRA also reduced the minimum penalty for conviction on the most serious (A-I felony) drug charge in New York from 15 years to life, to 8 years in prison, for an offender with no prior felonies. In addition, the weight thresholds for the two most serious possession offenses (A-I and A-II) were doubled (thus making them apply to fewer defendants), and those serving life sentences were permitted to apply for re-sentencing. Since 2004, the number of prisoners serving sentences for A-I narcotics felonies has been cut by more than half. In his first State of the State address in January 2009, New York Governor David Paterson was critical of the Rockefeller drug laws, stating, "I can't think of a criminal justice strategy that has been more unsuccessful than the Rockefeller drug laws." In April 2009, the New York Penal Law and the New York Criminal Procedure Law were revised to remove the mandatory minimum sentences. Under the new law, judges now had the authority to sentence defendants convicted of drug offences on guilty plea to shorter sentences, probation or drug treatment - the last known as "Judicial Diversion". Prior to 2009, drug treatment was available at the discretion of prosecutors. The sentencing was made retroactive, which allowed over 1000 incarcerated defendants to apply for resentencing and possible release. New York City has been called the cannabis-arrest capital of the world, with over 40,000 arrests in 2008. Despite New York's decriminalization of simple possession, New York City police arrest