New York could legalise cannabis this year, governor says
Legalizing the drug would pour hundreds of millions into the coffers of a state facing a $6 billion budget gap, he said
Thusday, January 9, 2020
Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged for the second year in a row to legalise recreational cannabis in New York, prioritizing a push that fell apart last year amid tensions over who should be allowed to sell the drug and where the revenue should go. New York could become the nation’s 12th to do so. Mr Cuomo made the legalisation of cannabis a key priority as he outlined his agenda for 2020, saying taxes imposed by a regulatory scheme could bring some $300m into the state’s coffers and confront injustices in enforcement of drug laws. “For decades, communities of colour were disproportionately affected by the unequal enforcement of marijuana laws. Last year we righted that injustice when we decriminalised possession,” Mr Cuomo said in his annual State of the State address.
