NEW YORK (AP) — Most of the thousands of people arrested for the first time on low-level marijuana possession charges in Brooklyn will likely no longer be forced to go to court for cases that are often eventually dismissed anyway.

Under a new policy announced Tuesday by District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, prosecutors will now use their discretion to dismiss upfront many class B misdemeanor pot possession claims on a case-by-case basis. The policy parts from a previous practice that Thompson said weighed on the criminal justice system in both dollar and human costs.