NEW YORK: Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York state lawmakers formally agreed in late-night talks on a deal to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and over, the governor’s office announced Sunday. Once the underlying legislation passes — Cuomo’s Democratic party holds strong majorities in both legislative chambers — New York will join 14 other states and the District of Columbia in permitting cannabis use.
A statement from Cuomo’s office said the change could net an additional $350 million in annual tax revenues and create tens of thousands of jobs. The draft law would allow adults 21 and over to purchase cannabis and grow plants for personal consumption at home, with a plan to divert some funds to drug treatment and education.
“Legalizing adult-use cannabis isn’t just about creating a new market that will provide jobs and benefit the economy — it’s also about justice for long-marginalized communities and ensuring those who’ve been unfairly penalized in the past will now get a chance to benefit,” Cuomo said in the statement.
The law would take immediate effect once passed, but sales could take up to two years to start, as New York creates a proposed cannabis board and gets legal structures in place, a state lawmaker said Friday.
New York would automatically clear records of people with past convictions of marijuana-related offenses that would no longer be criminalized.
The law would also eliminate penalties for possession of up to three ounces of the drug (85 grams), the new personal possession limit. An existing medical-marijuana program would be expanded. The state plans to tax marijuana sales at nine percent, with revenues from an additional four-percent tax divided between local and county government.
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