editorial
Legal marijuana stall has Northeast govs comparing notes
BY JENNIFER PELTZ
A year ago, marijuana legalization
looked like it was on a roll in the
Northeast — it had already passed in
three of the region’s states and was a
priority for governors in three more,
including New York.
Now, after legislative efforts stalled
and a vaping sickness stirred new concerns,
the governors of New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut still want to
make recreational pot legal. And they
and Pennsylvania’s governor have
been comparing notes on how to do it.
But the states have different approaches
and political appetites. They
are contending with new questions as
both opponents and advocates of legalization
point to the vaping scare to
make their cases.
Supporters remain hopeful, particularly
about New Jersey, where the
question is now headed to voters this
fall, and New York, where Governor
Andrew Cuomo spotlighted it in his
State of the State speech last Wednesday.
Critics of legalization feel the dynamics
have shifted their way.
New York seemed like it might be
on track to join in last year. But the effort
failed amid friction over whether
pot tax revenue would be committed
to areas where marijuana arrests once
were concentrated and how communities
would get to choose whether to host
dispensaries, among other issues.
Lawmakers pivoted and passed
provisions to eliminate criminal penalties
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for possessing small amounts of
marijuana and create an expungement
process.
This year, NY’s Senate Democratic
Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins feels
“legalization is imminent, but there
are realities that are concrete.”
Lawmakers are very concerned
about vaping safety, she said. Cuomo,
too, has elevated health questions; his
proposal this year newly includes a research
center on health and safety issues.
And many suburban legislators remain
cool or outright opposed to permitting
recreational pot, citing concerns
about drugged driving and other
potential downsides.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont
and New Jersey counterpart Phil
Murphy both campaigned on legalizing
recreational marijuana but have
faced ambivalence in their legislatures,
where fellow Democrats are in
control.
Connecticut’s Lamont “is still examining
the path forward” on marijuana
legalization, spokesman Max
Reiss said recently.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf this
fall embraced legalizing weed, after
previously saying the state should explore
it. But given opposition from Republicans
who control the Legislature,
Wolf considers it more realistic fi rst to
pursue lifting criminal penalties for
marijuana and creating an expungement
mechanism, spokesman J.J. Abbott
said this week.
This Aug. 22, 2019 photo shows medical marijuana plants being grown before fl owering
during a media tour of the Curaleaf medical cannabis cultivation and processing facility
in Ravena, N.Y. After legislative efforts stalled and a vaping sickness stirred new concerns,
the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut still want to make recreational pot
legal. But the states have different approaches and timeframes, and some proposals have
shifted since last year. AP Photo/Hans Pennink
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