On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he is officially in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the state of New York. According to the Huffington Post , the Democratic governor announced the change in his position during a speech outlining his 2019 legislative priorities — and legalizing marijuana is near the top of the list.
“Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana, once and for all,” Cuomo said during his speech. This move comes after Cuomo commissioned a study regarding whether or not New York should consider legalizing marijuana earlier this year. The governor also convened a task force in order to draft legislation that would regulate the sale and use of marijuana.
This is a dramatic change of heart for Governor Cuomo, who has in the past been markedly opposed to the legalization of marijuana. As recently as 2017, he condemned marijuana as a “gateway drug” with the potential to lead users to substance abuse.
But all that changed in the last Democratic primary. During the primary, Cuomo’s opponent, Cynthia Nixon, called for the legalization of marijuana — and was widely applauded for it. She argued that the current New York laws unfairly targeted minorities, and that legalization would also bring in added revenue to the state of New York.
“Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all,” said Cuomo. https://t.co/FD5ck8rAut pic.twitter.com/TehdNlaK9v
— 7 News WKBW (@WKBW) December 17, 2018
While Nixon ultimately lost the election to Cuomo, it seems that he took some of her points to heart. Besides pushing for legalization, Cuomo also wants to find out if people previously arrested for possession of marijuana could have those charges dropped from their criminal records.
Right now the state Senate and Assembly are reviewing bills that would legalize marijuana use. While older versions of the bills floundered — in part due to Republican control — the new Democratic majority might be more inclined to push them through.
Should the bills go through, New York would become the second largest state in the country to legalize marijuana, after California. It would join Vermont, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maine, California, Colorado, Alaska, and the District of Columbia — which have all legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Michigan is the newest addition to the ranks, as the state approved a ballot measure on the issue during the November midterm elections.
Cuomo’s shift is indicative of a national trend, as laws surrounding the use of marijuana recreationally — and for medical purposes — are increasingly relaxed. All told there are currently 33 states with legalized medical marijuana programs, including all those that authorize recreational use as well.
