Racial & economic justice is at stake

The rights of thousands of New Yorkers have been violated because of marijuana prohibition and the pretext it provides for law enforcement to overpolice communities of color. Yet a new poll shows a majority of New Yorkers — nearly two-thirds of voters in the state — favor legalizing marijuana use for adults and prefer using the revenue from a legal market to address our budget deficit over other options.

New Yorkers are tired of the ongoing marijuana arrest crusade, which has led to more than 800,000 people being arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana in New York State in the past 20 years, with over 700,000 arrests by the NYPD alone. On average, 60 New Yorkers were arrested every day for marijuana possession in 2016, one of the top reasons for arrests in the state.

But New York doesn’t need to remain mired in this damaging cycle. We have an opportunity to support racial and economic justice by shifting away from costly, racially biased and unjust enforcement of marijuana laws across the state and creating a new, well-regulated and inclusive marijuana industry in New York.

New York can learn lessons from other states that have preceded us in legalizing marijuana and are reaping the benefits by ensuring that we create avenues for participation by black, Latino and low-income people to avoid establishing new barriers to employment for those most harmed by marijuana prohibition.

There is no reason why New York, a global economic powerhouse, should not be able to provide its residents with the same opportunities that are being afforded to individuals in states that are generating millions of dollars in revenue from legalization.

Establishing a legal market for adult marijuana use in New York and creating a system to tax and regulate marijuana will put state tax dollars to better use, create new jobs and generate millions in tax revenue.

For example, illicit marijuana sales in New York are estimated at $3 billion a year, and a study by the city controller in 2013 estimated potential tax revenue for a legal marijuana market in the city alone would be more than $400 million annually within three to five years of legalization, acknowledging that the actual revenue could be much higher.

If legislators are serious about upholding the rights of all New Yorkers and supporting smart economic growth, they need to end marijuana prohibition now and create a system to tax and regulate marijuana that will repair and reinvest in communities that have been most harmed by the arrest crusade by voting for the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

Moore is the deputy New York State director of the Drug Policy Alliance and co-campaign lead for Start SMART NY.