Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo Night Health Care: Biden will quickly release almost every dose of vaccine | The head of the FDA urges states to allow vaccination of lower priority groups Biden predicts COVID-19 proposal “in trillions of dollars” Under pressure, Cuomo will expand eligibility for the Cuomo vaccine: “I call on President Trump to resign” MORE (D) promised Monday that his state will legalize recreational cannabis as it begins intensifying efforts in the new year to give the green light to legislation to legalize it.
“We will legalize recreational cannabis for adults, joining 15 states that have already done so,” he tweeted Monday. The measure, Cuomo said, “will increase revenue and end the failed ban on this product that has left so many communities of color overly controlled and overcrowded.”
We will legalize recreational cannabis for adults, joining 15 states that have already done so.
This will increase revenue and end the failed ban on this product that has left so many color communities too guarded and too imprisoned.# SOTS2021
– Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 11, 2021
Last week, Cuomo, who has made efforts in the past to legalize recreational marijuana in the state, announced a new proposal that sought to legalize and establish an office to oversee and regulate cannabis.
Cuomo’s office said in the announcement that the new agency would oversee the state’s adult use program, in addition to the state’s “existing medical and cannabinoid programs.”
“In addition, an equitable structure will be created for the adult use market by offering licensing and assistance opportunities to entrepreneurs from colorful communities who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs,” his office said.
The state estimated at the time that legalizing recreational marijuana would help accumulate more than $ 300 million in tax revenue.
It is Cuomo’s latest effort to legalize recreational use in the state, which previously legalized medical marijuana. It also comes after a push for legalization last year hit an obstacle in the New York state legislature after lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on the allocation of tax revenue.
“I have been supporting him for years. I’ve tried to pass it, but this is a year when we need funding and a lot of New Yorkers are struggling. So, I think this year will give us the impetus to cross the goal line, ”Cuomo said last week.
“Not only will legalizing and regulating the adult cannabis market provide the opportunity to generate much-needed revenue, but it also allows us to directly support individuals and communities who have been hardest hit by decades of cannabis bans.” , he also said. last week.
Cuomo’s renewed commitment to legalize recreational marijuana comes just over a year after he signed legislation that saw his state join a number of others in decriminalizing marijuana use at the same time. which provided some marijuana convictions with a way to remove their records.
The following year, the issue of decriminalization also gained momentum on Capitol Hill, with the House in December passing legislation to decriminalize drugs across the country.