Cuomo said during his address that it is an ethical imperative to legalize the cannabis in the state, according to the news outlet, and said he hopes to work with Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to coordinate policy reform efforts. Cuomo also called for the State University of New York to form a cannabis and hemp research center, Patch.com reported.
“I think it’s a rehash of the momentum that picked up last year,” Joshua Horn, partner at Fox Rothschild, told Cannabis Business Times.
Cuomo first announced support for adult-use legalization in December 2018, when he called on the New York Legislature to pass legislation that would regulate and tax cannabis. He included a legalization plan in his 2019 state budget, but the proposal was ultimately removed.
A revised version of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act was then reintroduced by lawmakers in May, but stalled in the legislature in June, at the end of last year’s legislative session.
The legislature did approve a cannabis decriminalization bill, however, which Cuomo signed and applauded in last week’s State of the State Address.