Puff Puff Passed

  • Made By CUP With:
  • Students
  • Tags:
  • Democracy,
  • Court System

Students investigate how marijuana legalization will impact New Yorkers.

Students conduct community surveys.
Students map out a system.

In April of 2021, the New York State legislature passed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) to legalize recreational marijuana use. Communities like Red Hook, where inequitable enforcement of drug laws has led to mass incarceration, are concerned about continuing to be penalized even after legalization.

How will marijuana legalization impact New Yorkers? How can the harm be repaired? Who will benefit? How will it impact youth?

In the Summer of 2021, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Elliott Golden and public high school students from the Red Hook Community Justice Center to investigate these questions. Students explored digital filmmaking by shooting commercial parodies, creating stop-motion animations, surveying community members, and interviewing stakeholders and decision makers.

The group gathered what they learned and created a short documentary film that explores the impacts of marijuana legalization on New York. Watch the film below!

Students debuted their final project virtually through a public presentation, where they presented their film and shared their creative process to almost one hundred attendees.

See more photos of students in action here!

Students create artwork to put in their films.
Students set up cameras to film.

Project Collaborators

CUP

Fielding Hong
Ana Beirne-Meyer

Red Hook Community Justice Center

Viviana Gordon, Deputy Director
Leslie Gonzaga, Manager of Youth Impact and Community Initiatives
Christopher Cobar, Americorps Intern

Teaching Artist

Elliott Golden

Students

Nasir Brothers
Cristian Colon
Suvana Cruz
Jamel Evans
Angelica Faustino-Restrepo
Dominique King
Dontae McCoy
Romell Mendoza
Luis Salgado
Angelica Santana
Anissa Severwell
Jason Tan
Ashley Taylor
Brandon Vasquez
Karaz Williams
Becky Zhu

Resources

The Red Hook Community Justice Center is the nation’s first multi-jurisdictional community court. The Center seeks to solve neighborhood problems in southwest Brooklyn.

Funding Support

Support for this project was provided by Christine Coletta, Rebecca Karp, Jason Kim, Sam Marks and Lauren Pesso, Scott Powell, Jeremy Robinson-Leon, David Smiley and Lauren Kogod, Ayanna Oliver-Taylor, Joanne Witty, Mari Yahagi, the CUP Board of Directors, and more than 200 CUP supporters. Additional support provided by NYC Ferry operated by City Experiences.

Special Thanks

Thank you to our Interviewees: Jabari Brisport, Hon. Alex Calabrese, Edna McGoldrick, and Melissa Moore.