Recreational marijuana could be headed to New York in 2019. In a remarkable turnaround, Governor Cuomo announced his plan to legalize recreational marijuana next year in his speech outlining his agenda for the first 100 days of his third term.
Governor Cuomo Historically Against Marijuana
Just last year, Gov. Cuomo declared marijuana a dangerous “gateway drug” that shouldn’t be legalized. He rejected medicinal marijuana for years before finally approving a limited pilot program with very heavy restrictions in 2014.
Positive Changes From Legalizing Marijuana
The impetus behind the change, and what the legalization could look like, may stem from the State Department of Health report Cuomo commissioned in January, which was published in July. That report concluded that the benefits of taxing and regulating the drug outweighed any negative effects.
Though Cuomo can advocate for legalization all he wants, it will take more than his vote alone. Assembly person Walter Mosley, a Democrat from Brooklyn, said in a statement that the Legislature “cannot move forward with an adult-use program until we know that these injustices of the past are made right.”
Related Resources:
- 3 More States Legalize Marijuana at Midterms (FindLaw Blotter)
- Vermont Legalizes Marijuana: 5 Quick Facts You Should Know (FindLaw Blotter)
- Are the Feds Going to Legalize It? Marijuana Justice Act Introduced in Senate (FindLaw Courtside)
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