Await reviews
Lawmakers prep for state decision on legal marijuana
Counties prep for state decision on legal marijuana.
County officials in the Capital Region are taking a wait-and-see approach to the potential legalization of marijuana and sales within their borders.
If state lawmakers and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo strike a deal on a program regulating adult use of marijuana, it’s likely that counties would get to decide whether they would allow the sales in their boundaries. Counties opting out of the system, as proposed by the governor’s budget, would be excluded from sharing in the new revenues.
Officials from Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties haven’t decided what will happen if they’re forced to decide, and are still examining the merits and drawbacks of participating.
“There are a lot of different angles for us to look at,” said Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Kevin Tollisen, a Halfmoon Republican.
Saratoga County’s district attorney and sheriff previously announced their opposition to legalization.
If even one of the Capital Region counties decides to opt in, it will likely have ramifications for the neighboring communities, which is why Rensselaer County Executive Steve Mclaughlin would ideally want a “regional decision.”
“If we say ‘no,’ and our surrounding counties say ‘yes,’ we get the societal problems ... but we don’t get the revenue to begin to help offset it,” Mclaughlin said. “I want to sit down with my counterparts.”
County leaders also have to take into account that New York residents can already legally purchase marijuana in Massachusetts and illegal markets would likely continue to operate in New York. “It’s right on our doorstep,” Mclaughlin said.
The question is complicated by the fact that no one knows what legalization will look like, if it happens.
Cuomo is skeptical a deal can get done this year, but legislative leaders believe it’s possible for an agreement to be struck during budget negotiations or the final three months of the legislative session.
Based on what the New
York State Association of Counties has seen in the proposals from the governor and Legislature, they believe the “risks and long-term negative consequences” of legalization outweigh any potential benefits.
If adult use is approved for New York, the association wants the share of revenue proposed in the governor’s plan for counties to be doubled so they have the resources to fund increased costs, such as law enforcement, public awareness campaigns and medical services.
The county executives in Long Island preemptively decided this month that they will opt out of any system, at least for the first year.
Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce said a decision
wouldn’t be made preemptively, but stressed that they’re being proactive about the process.
He noted that Albany County District Attorney David Soares visited Colorado on a “fact-finding trip” and delivered a “mixed report” on the ramifications of legalization.
Whatever happens, Joyce said, “We need to be ready.”
Schenectady County has yet to have “organized talks” about the possibility, according to county Legislature Majority Leader Gary Hughes.
Mclaughlin said discussions in Rensselaer County have been pretty “basic” so far.
He was encouraged by the reporting suggesting legalization won’t happen in the budget, which is due in less than two weeks, because he believes there are too many unanswered questions about what the final plan would look like.
▶ David.lombardo@timesunion.com 518-4545427 ■ @poozer87 ■