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New York Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Recreational Marijuana
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New York Lawmakers Vote To Legalize Recreational Marijuana [forbes.com]:
Topline
New York lawmakers voted Tuesday to legalize marijuana for recreational use, putting the state on track to launch an industry proponents have said would address decades of racial injustices in drug arrests and inject billions of dollars into the local economy.
Key Facts
The legislation passed the state Assembly 100-49, shortly after the Senate approved it 40-23.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would swiftly sign the bill [nysenate.gov] into law, a move that would make New York the 15th state in the U.S. to legalize marijuana for adults.
The legislation would take effect immediately, allowing those 21 years and older to possess up to three ounces of marijuana in the state.
But New Yorkers would not be permitted to sell or grow marijuana until a state committee establishes rules and licenses, which could take between several months to more than a year.
As part of broader efforts in the legislation to address a history of drug policies that have disproportionately affected communities of color, the state would automatically expunge records for those with past marijuana-related convictions.
The state marijuana industry has been valued at $4.6 billion and could grow to $5.8 billion over the next five years, according to a recent study [squarespace.com] commissioned by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association. The legislation would set aside millions in tax revenue each year for minority communities in New York, funding education and drug prevention programs in areas hit the hardest by marijuana laws in New York. Cuomo has estimated marijuana legalization would raise roughly $350 million for the state and local governments through a 13% tax on marijuana sales and a variable tax based on the content of the psychoactive ingredient THC. The legislation also called for half of business licenses to go to so-called equity applicants, which would include minorities, women and disabled veterans. Those groups may also qualify for low- or zero-interest loans and grants to enter the legal marijuana industry, which has been dominated [apnews.com] by white business owners in many states. Cities, towns and villages in New York are able to reject local retail sales of marijuana if they pass legislation by the end of the year, but they cannot opt out of statewide legalization of the drug.
Opponents of marijuana legalization have argued it could pose public health concerns, by drawing teens and kids to the drug and leading to a rise in impaired drivers who would threaten road safety. “Commercializing marijuana brings along a host of significant health, safety and societal costs that result in no tax money and no social justice,” Kevin Sabet, the president of the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana New York, said [facebook.com] in 2019 when a bill to legalize marijuana failed in the state legislature.
68%: That’s how many Americans supported marijuana legalization in a Gallup poll [gallup.com] last year. More than 80% of Democrats backed legalization, according to the poll, and Republicans were evenly split on the issue.
“The bill we have held out for will create a nation-leading model for legalization,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation and has pushed for marijuana legalization for years. “New York’s program will not just talk the talk on racial justice, it will walk the walk.”
Even as a growing number of U.S. states legalize marijuana, President Joe Biden has continued to oppose calls to allow recreational use of the drug nationwide. At a press conference Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the president instead supported marijuana decriminalization efforts that would reduce penalties related to the drug. “His position has not changed,” Psaki said.
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