Conditions ‘ripe’ in New York for marijuana
sale legalization in 2021, Cuomo says
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Cash-strapped New York state is
“ripe” for the picking when it comes
to legalizing marijuana for public sale
and distribution, Governor Andrew
Cuomo said Thursday morning, Nov.
5.
During an interview with WAMC
radio’s Alan Chartock, Cuomo was
asked about New Jersey’s successful
Election Day referendum permitting
the sale and recreational use of cannabis
— the third state adjacent to New
York to do so.
In recent years, New York approved
the medicinal use of marijuana and decriminalized
the possession of small
amounts of cannabis as part of criminal
justice reform efforts. But with
New York now facing an unprecedented
budget deficit due to the COVID-19
pandemic, Cuomo suggested that the
time might now be right for the Empire
State to give recreational marijuana
the green light.
“The question becomes about the
money and the distribution and the
power,” Cuomo told Chartock. “I think
this year 2021 it is ripe, because the
state is going to be desperate for funding,
even with the possible election
of Biden, even with a stimulus. We’re
still going to need funding, and it’s
also the right policy. So I think we get
there this year.”
Cuomo claimed that he has supported
the full legalization of marijuana in
New York “for years,” and conceded
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that New Jersey found “the faster way”
toward legalization through a ballot
referendum. He did not state whether
New York would go the same route in
posing a public question on whether to
legalize cannabis.
Along with New Jersey voters, the
electorate in Arizona, South Dakota
and Montana also approved marijuana
legalization referendums on Election
Day — joining 11 other states in
the Union that have previously legalized
recreational cannabis.
The governor said that “the pressure
is going to be on” lawmakers
in Albany to make marijuana legal,
and reap the financial benefits of it
through state taxes and license fees.
It’s estimated in reports that New
York state government could receive
at least $300 million annually in new
tax revenue through legalization.
“We’re going to need the money so
badly,” Cuomo added. “And you have
such a gap now that I think it’s going
to be an easier conversation.”
Cuomo’s statement is in line with
remarks made in October by Abel
Bernabe, an adviser to Cuomo, who indicated
that the governor would introduce
a legalization bill in January as
part of his executive budget. A similar
bill was introduced earlier this year,
but ultimately failed to be part of the
final spending plan for 2020-21.
Reach reporter Robert Pozarycki by
e-mail at rpozarycki@qns.com or by
phone at (718) 260-4549.
REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo
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