Amid the crisis, marijuana legalization in New York will have to wait again
Marijuana legalization is an incredibly contentious and complicated issue for legislators even under normal circumstances
Friday, April 3, 2020
During New York’s worst health crisis in a lifetime, a deadline came up to put forth a provision to legalize adult-use marijuana. With other concerns to address, lawmakers are passing on legalization. Advocates are understanding of this. “While legalizing cannabis is necessary to reduce the decades of unjust, racist targeting of communities of color in New York, our state faces a public health crisis right now and efforts to contain COVID-19 demand legislators’ full attention,” said Kassandra Frederique of the Drug Policy Alliance. The new year started with high hopes that the state would finally pass a legalization bill. Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) placed it among his top priorities in his State of the State address in January, after convening a meeting with other Northeast governors.
