For drug reformers, social justice advocates and longtime fans of toking up, tomorrow will be a day they have waited decades to see. As part of the release of his state budget proposal, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to present his plan for legalizing adult recreational use of marijuana. If a bill passes, it would make New York the 11th state to bring a complete end to cannabis prohibition.
More than 20 other states—including New York since 2014—have legal medical-marijuana programs.
The governor's proposal is likely to intensify the debate over not just legalization but also how to avoid problems that have beset other states, such as California, where a recreational rollout undermined the medical-marijuana program and failed to curb the black market.
Some advocates and policy experts are concerned about commercialization, or at least its adverse side effects, which can include a growing dependency on increasingly potent strains of the drug.
One insider familiar with the working group that has been advising the governor said he expected New York would wind up with "by far" the most restrictive recreational program in the country. It's not clear how it might play out, but the aim, according to the insider, would be to keep prices from plunging—as they have in Washington state, for instance—but still have them undercut the black market. The program would also try to limit how aggressively cannabis is marketed.