Heastie: nix old raps if pot legal

ALBANY — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie believes New Yorkers busted in the past for smoking pot should get a clean slate if marijuana use becomes legal.

Heastie (D-Bronx, photo inset) said any effort to legalize recreational marijuana use should also include the “broader discussion” of expunging the criminal records of those already convicted of smoking pot.

“If we are going to get to the point where it is going to be legal and recreational, then why should people now still be having trouble getting jobs and having a record for something that now could be legal?” Heastie told reporters.

Heastie’s comments came as the state Health Department prepares to release a report, ordered by the Gov. Cuomo in January, that examines the pros and cons of marijuana legalization. Although there’s less than a month left in the Legislature’s session, Heastie said it’s still possible lawmakers could address the issue before they adjourn for the year in late June.