ok, who better to answer this than a former pot head, boozer?
a 17 year old american with a little bit of weed is about as common as shmoes at the olympia.
the whole gateway thing is bullshit. the vast majority of those who smoke pot NEVER move on to harder drugs, even if they do its once or twice with cocaine or mushrooms. very very few become junkies, sucking dickfor crack
in almost every way, weed is WAY better for you and the community than alcohol.
I dont know about NY, but i think most simple possession of MJ laws are pretty light. $100 here in cali, and its not even a misd.
the real consequence here is that if youre caught, it will go on criminal record FOREVER!....... so your trying to get that job and they run a fast record check, BOOM, you look like a pot head, whether you are or not
my advice, dont rat him out