{"id":5713,"date":"2023-09-19T04:20:19","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?p=5713"},"modified":"2023-09-21T07:01:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T14:01:10","slug":"new-york-city-mother-wins-cannabis-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/new-york-city-mother-wins-cannabis-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother in New York City Wins Cannabis Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Administration for Children\u2019s Services (ACS) in New York City has settled a landmark cannabis lawsuit,<\/strong> prompted by a parent’s accusation of targeting her for cannabis use and taking custody of her newborn son.<\/p>\n

The parent, Chanetto Rivers, is set to receive over $75,000 in addition to coverage for legal fees. She accused New York City<\/a> and its child welfare agency of separating her from her son after they both tested positive for marijuana in August 2021.<\/p>\n

Rivers, who is Black, filed a lawsuit in May alleging ACS pursued her for marijuana use due to her race. She pointed to a history of similar complaints against the agency, which preceded the alleged violation of state law.<\/p>\n

Smoked Cannabis at a Cookout<\/h2>\n

The case revolves around a cookout in the summer of 2021, five months after New York state legalized the use of recreational marijuana<\/a>. Rivers attended a family cookout and smoked cannabis, according to the New York Times. She then experienced contractions and went to the hospital to give birth.<\/p>\n

The Times reported<\/a> that while preparing to deliver her baby, identified in court papers as T.W., healthcare workers asked if she had consumed drugs or alcohol. When she said she had smoked cannabis, both she and T.W. were tested without her consent or knowledge. Both tested positive for marijuana. Two days later, ACS informed Rivers it was opening a neglect case and moved to place T.W. in foster care.<\/p>\n

ACS policy states that \u201cmarijuana in an infant\u2019s system is not grounds for removal without a finding that the baby might be impaired. The agency made no finding of impairment,\u201d according to the Times. However, it took Rivers nearly a week, multiple trips to court and a judge\u2019s order \u2014 over the objections of ACS \u2014 to gain custody of T.W. and bring him home from the hospital, BronxCare Health System.<\/p>\n

Even after all of these complications, ACS made unannounced home visits, according to the lawsuit, for three more months, including in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n

The First Case of Its Kind<\/h3>\n

Rivers filed her lawsuit in U.S. District Court. federal court. The complaint states, “Even after a judge mandated ACS to reunite Ms. Rivers with her baby, ACS continued to subject Ms. Rivers to needless court proceedings and a litany of conditions that interfered with her parenting of T.W. for months, while the unlawful removal of her baby was ratified by senior ACS leadership. This was not because ACS was trying to protect T.W.; this was because Ms. Rivers is Black.”<\/p>\n

ACS has faced similar accusations regarding race, according to the Times, as well as aggressively pursuing cases involving marijuana use. According to the New York Daily News<\/a>, an ACS spokeswoman addressed the controversial case, saying the agency was just looking after the child\u2019s safety, saying the agency assesses child safety \u201con a case-by-case basis, looking at actual or potential harm to a child and the parent\u2019s capacity to care for the child,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cState and city policy is that a parent\u2019s use of marijuana is not in and of itself a basis for indicating a report or filing a neglect case. This means that a case should not be indicated solely because a parent is using marijuana, but instead a child protective specialist should assess the impact, if any, on the safety and well-being of the child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivers said the lawsuit verdict is a victory not just for herself. \u201cI didn\u2019t just bring this lawsuit for myself, but for every Black family that ACS has ripped apart,\u201d Rivers said, according to the Daily News. \u201cThey know what they did was wrong. And now, they\u2019re on notice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mother in New York City wins a controversial case against a government agency that took custody of her child because she smoked cannabis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[1493,703,1084],"yoast_head":"\nMother in New York City Wins Cannabis Lawsuit | ACS of NY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A mother in New York City wins a controversial case against a government agency that took custody of her child because she smoked cannabis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/new-york-city-mother-wins-cannabis-lawsuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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