BUFFALO, N.Y. — Open Buffalo's Community Restoration Project hosted a cookout at Martin Luther King Jr. Park Saturday to get people in on the conversation about legal weed. 

Organizers went over what is legal and what is not, how a "clean slate" law can help restore people's rights, and why they believe the wealthy should pay more taxes in New York State.

Organizers say Buffalo has experienced over-policing for the use and sale of marijuana, particularly in Black and brown communities, and they hope this new legislation will result in fewer convictions.

"Today is really a celebration of the passage of a major piece of legislation, which is the MRTA,” said Cheney Brockington, 2021 Open Buffalo justice fellow. “This is a celebration, but it's also an informational session for the community to ... what's going to ensure we are able to put a cease to some major over-policing, even though this bill has been passed."

Open Buffalo works to advance racial, economic, and ecological justice across Western New York.