Gov Cuomo says marijuana should be legalized in New York because the state needs the money to rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic - just days after New Jersey voted in favor of it
Governor Andrew Cuomo says marijuana should be legalized in New York next year because the state needs the money in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with WAMC public radio on Thursday, Cuomo said he expected a deal with lawmakers in 2021 after neighboring New Jersey this week approved ballot measures to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
'I think this year it is ripe, because the state is going to be desperate for funding, even with Biden, even with stimulus, even with everything else, we're still going to be desperate for funding and it's also the right policy,' Cuomo said.
The Democrat suggested that the state's current budget hole of billions of dollars would help push the decriminalization of marijuana over the line after years of back and forth between lawmakers.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that marijuana should be legalized in New York next year because the state needs the money in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic
New York officials have projected a $59 billion revenue shortfall through 2022 as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
It has been estimated that $300 million in tax revenue could be generated per year if marijuana is legalized.
New York has previously approved marijuana for medicinal use and eased penalties for possession of small amounts as part of criminal justice reforms.
Efforts to make marijuana legal for recreational use, however, have so far been thwarted due, in part, to disagreements about how the revenue would be spent.
Cuomo said the damage to the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could be what changes the conversation between lawmakers.
'Marijuana, I've supported it for years,' Cuomo said.
'The question becomes about the money, about the distribution and the power. It always comes down to money and power: Who gets the licenses and who gets the money?' Cuomo said.
'I think the pressure is gonna be on because we're going to need the money so badly and you have such a gap now.
'I think it's gonna be an easier conversation.'
New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday became the latest states in the US to legalize marijuana in some form
He said that New Jersey was right to approve it by ballot because it is faster than waiting for legislation.
'New Jersey did it on the ballot, which in retrospect I think was probably the faster way,' he said when asked what had taken so long for New York to move forward
Cuomo would not say whether New York would go down the ballot initiative path as well.
It comes as voters in New Jersey approved ballot measures on Tuesday legalizing marijuana for adults.
Arizona, Montana and South Dakota also followed suit.
Oregon also become the first state to decriminalize personal possession of all drugs including heroin and cocaine, while Washington D.C. will allow for consumption of magic mushrooms.
The move to decriminalize hard drugs including heroin and methamphetamine in Oregon - as well as legalizing the use of psilocybin mushrooms - passed by two large margins on Tuesday.
Known as Measure 110, it will completely change how Oregon's justice system treats those who are found with personal-use amounts of the hard drugs.
Under the new measures, instead of going to trial and facing possible jail time, a person found with the hard drugs in their possession would have the option of paying a $100 fine or attending new 'addiction recovery centers.'
The centers would be funded by millions of dollars of tax revenue from the legalized, regulated marijuana industry in the state that was the country's first to decriminalize marijuana possession.
Oregon also become the first state to decriminalize personal possession of all drugs including heroin and cocaine on Tuesday
