More than a year ago, this page came out in support of the legalization of recreational marijuana, on the ground that keeping the drug illegal fed indefensible racial disparities in policing and punishment, with no public health benefit.
In New York state government news, lawmakers are wrapping up the 2019 legislative session with big decisions on proposals to legalize recreational marijuana and authorize driver's licenses for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
The Democrat-led Senate and Assembly plan to adjourn their six-month session Wednesday.
Supporters of legal marijuana and granting the licenses are optimistic their efforts will pay off, but opposition could still doom both measures.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is citing a lack of political action in Trenton as one of the factors in Albany's unwillingness to give the green light to legalize weed in New York state.
"When New Jersey didn't pass it, some of the wind came out of the political sail," Cuomo said Monday.
He told reporters that he doesn't believe there is sufficient support to pass the measure in the state Senate.
In Albany, a legalization measure that once seemed as unstoppable as a locomotive ran completely off the rails. The push to include adult-use cannabis legalization in the New York Legislature’s 2019 state budget package officially died on Monday.
Gov. Cuomo’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana is stuck in the weeds.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the legislation is complex and may not be approved as part of the state budget due April 1, but would be dealt with later.
“Being honest and saying six weeks may not be enough time to come up with regulations, deal with economic impact on communities and the criminal justice aspects, somehow gets reactions of outrage instead of understanding and acknowledgment of the commitment to get this done,” Heastie said in a Thursday tweet.
Legalized marijuana, sports betting and new traffic tolls in Manhattan are just some of the measures Democrats believe they can push through the New York Legislature in a 2019 session that begins this week with their party in control of both chambers and the governor’s office for the first time in a decade.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that he would push to legalize recreational marijuana next year, a move that could bring in more than $1.3 billion in revenue annually and put New York in line with several neighboring states.
The highly anticipated proposal came in a speech Mr. Cuomo gave in Manhattan on Monday, in which he outlined his agenda for the first 100 days of his third term.
Around the nation and in New York, talk has turned from “if” to “when” and “how” marijuana may be made legal for recreational use. Even if Republicans manage to keep control of the state Senate, there are likely to be enough among them who understand why it is so important for New York to avoid the usual Albany impasse — stubbornly refusing to bring this issue to a vote — and give it the thorough examination it deserves.