During his Wednesday State of the State address, the governor expressed his support for fully legalizing adult use of cannabis, saying, “For decades, communities of color were disproportionately affected by the unequal enforcement of marijuana laws.”
As a caveat to the claim, Cuomo also proposed that New York’s state universities do research on cannabis and its potential benefits or pitfalls.
“The federal government failed Americans with opioids,” Cuomo said, in a briefing book released with his speech. “And we cannot allow that to happen with cannabinoids.”