New York state lawmakers strike deal to legalize recreational marijuana
New York state officials have finalized a deal to legalize recreational marijuana use following several failed attempts.
The New York Times reported that lawmakers in Albany struck an agreement with Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday. A Siena College poll conducted earlier this month found that nearly 60% of New York voters favor legalizing recreational marijuana.
The legislation will allow for recreational use of cannabis for adults who are 21 or older. Lawmakers hope the plan will have an impact on the ways in which Black and Hispanic people are disproportionately policed and charged with low-level marijuana offenses. Under the proposed legislation millions of dollars in tax revenue from marijuana sales would also be reinvested into marginalized communities every year.
According to a memo obtained by CNN, half of the related business licenses would go towards “social equity applicants”, which the new organization says includes “those from communities impacted by cannabis prohibition and minority- and womenowned businesses”.
“When this bill is finally voted on and signed, New York will be able to say we have finally undone damaging criminal justice laws that accomplished nothing but ruining people’s lives,” the Democratic state senator Liz Krueger told the Times. “We will finally be able to say we’re going to have an industry for cannabis that assures people who buy the product that they are buying a legitimate product from legitimate companies.”
The language of the legislation has not been finalized, but could pass as soon as next week. If approved, marijuana sales would likely not become legal for another year.
“Officials must first face the daunting task of writing the complex rules that will control a highly regulated market, from the regulation of wholesalers and dispensaries, to the allocation of cultivating and retail licenses, to the creation of new taxes and a fivemember control board that would oversee the industry,” the publication notes.