editorial
Up to speed on legal weed
BY BRONX TIMES
It took a global pandemic that exposed
great economic suffering and
inequality in New York for the Empire
State to fi nally be on the cusp of fully
legalizing marijuana.
State lawmakers and embattled
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced
an agreement late Saturday night to
legalize the recreational use of cannabis
in New York, setting up an outline
for how this dramatic change will
work for the state, the economy and its
people.
For years now, medicinal marijuana
has been legal in New York —
though it’s been speculated that the
main reason why recreational use
wasn’t permitted earlier was not due
to health concerns, but rather because
no government wants to green-light a
new drug industry, even if the cash injections
of taxing this drug would be
gargantuan.
Obviously, there’s new momentum
behind Cuomo’s plan. The state
is thinking green here — as in dollar
bills, not marijuana leaves.
Although the American Rescue
Plan has been received favorably,
states have bled so much money during
the COVID-19 pandemic that every
taxable industry conceivable should
be fully annexed, lest our essential services
BRONX TIMES R 12 EPORTER, APRIL 2-8, 2021
go up in smoke.
We want to recover, better, faster
and stronger. Decriminalizing marijuana
helps accomplish that goal on a
variety of levels.
Legalization shifts police resources
on to other things and will help free
thousands of New Yorkers wrongly
jailed for minor offenses. A signifi cant
excise tax for marijuana purchases
will pump billions of dollars in new
cash into the state economy over the
next decade.
Moreover, the approved plan also
incorporates the desire for weed-seller
licenses to go to women and minority
populations. Let’s be honest: an ounce
of the green stuff is going to rake in a
hell of a lot more profi t that the gumball
mom-and-pops of yore. There’s
great economic opportunity here that
cannot be wasted.
Public safety questions abound,
and perhaps the biggest concern is for
the streets. How will police be able to
stop drivers who are under the infl uence
of marijuana from getting behind
the wheel?
The plans call for a research study
to develop better methodologies to detect
cannabis-impaired drivers, and
additional funding for drug recognition
and law enforcement experts to
help keep the streets safe.
But with those questions unanswered,
there will likely be inconsistent
policing and enforcement of the
rules.
While it’s high time for marijuana
to be legalized in New York, there is
much to do to ensure its legalization
works out for the best.
Chemdawg marijuana plants grow at a facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada October 29,
2019. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo
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