New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a proposal on Wednesday to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Empire State, which could add a much-needed source of tax revenue amid the financial devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was announced as part of Cuomo's annual State of the State address.
Another revenue stream that will be pushed by Cuomo is the legalization of recreational marijuana, which was expected to eventually generate more than $300 million in tax revenue.
“The governor’s proposal builds on years of work to understand and decriminalize cannabis for adult use,” the Cuomo administration said in a statement.
“Decades of cannabis prohibition have failed to achieve public health and safety goals and have led to unjust arrests and convictions particularly in communities of color.”
Marijuana legalization is an inevitability in New York, a top senator said on Monday, adding that the push is being bolstered by voter approval of cannabis reform next door in New Jersey.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) said during a press briefing that “it’s not so much a matter of if, it’s a matter of when and it’s a matter of how” the state legalizes marijuana for adult use.
The top marijuana advisor to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) says cannabis legalization legislation will again be introduced through the state budget in January, with the goal being to enact the reform by April. He also previewed state regulations for hemp-derived CBD products, including allowing infused drinks and food items.
New Jersey is the “linchpin” for coming recreational marijuana legalization on the East Coast, a panel of industry experts said Tuesday on the second day of MJBizConNEXT Direct, Marijuana Business Daily‘s three-day virtual cannabis business conference.
Panelist Rob DiPisa, partner and co-chair of cannabis law group Cole Schotz, called New Jersey a “hot market” that has continuously expanded its medical marijuana program and, therefore, has the infrastructure in place for a successful recreational program.
Not only are marijuana businesses excluded from federal coronavirus relief funds, but medical cannabis dispensaries in New York are also ineligible for a new COVID-19 loan program that the state is offering.
Under the New York Forward Loan Fund (NYFLF), marijuana shops are specifically excluded, alongside payday loan providers, pawn shops, strip clubs, liquor stores and astrologers. Information pages about the program don’t provide a reason for why dispensaries are considered ineligible.
The Tri-State area is among the U.S. regions most ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. The United States has more than 1.6 million cases and nearly 100,000 deaths, according to reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But more than 500,000 cases and 45,000 deaths come from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania alone.
The pandemic has had a disastrous impact on these state economies and lawmakers have turned to an unlikely savior to increase tax revenue — marijuana.
At the start of 2020, more than a dozen states seemed very likely to legalize marijuana for recreational or medical purposes by the end of the year. Now that a coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed just about every aspect of American life, it seems only a handful of states will be able to enact marijuana reform.
At the start of 2020 (a little over 90 days ago), the cannabis industry anticipated that this would be the year for major cannabis reform at the state level. Many states, including New York, New Jersey, Idaho, and Arkansas, had expressed great interest in clarifying and expanding cannabis legislation. And, as recent as January 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed his desire that New York's executive budget for 2021 include tax income that could be anticipated if the state allowed and taxed recreational cannabis.
In very disappointing news for Empire State marijuana aficionados, it seems as if the legalization of the recreational form of the drug is off the table for now. On Tuesday, the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it was "not likely" that the authorization of legal marijuana would be included in the state's upcoming budget. This will effectively kill it for now.