The process of legalizing recreational marijuana in New York has hit a major snag with the announcement that it isn’t included in the state budget for 2020. This means that it may now be harder to pass the legalization bill as a standalone bill.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has been pushing to have the bill included in the state budget for 2020, but it seems things haven’t gone his way.
The major issue in the way of legalization appears to be disagreements regarding how the program will be implemented. For example, the legislators are sharply divided about the way in which the taxes from recreational weed should be spent.
Another source of disagreement is the insistence by people of color that measures should be included in the law to avail economic opportunities in the industry to the racial groups, such as African Americans, which suffered the most during the war on drugs. Expunging criminal records isn’t enough, they say.
Even Cuomo admits that the task of passing the bill will be harder now that it isn’t included in the budget. However, the Governor is still optimistic that discussions on legalization will continue at a slower pace and a law may be in place this year.
Before this setback, many legislators had expressed reservations about the possibility of reaching a consensus in time to include marijuana legalization in the budget. Their fears just materialized, and cannabis legalization just got a little harder to attain.
The setback in New York State comes just days before neighboring New Jersey was expected to vote on a bill that would legalize recreational pot. However, that vote was called off on Monday (March 25), to the disappointment of marijuana advocates.
The New Jersey vote cancellation was a strategic decision by the Governor, the State Senate leader and the head of the Assembly. They opted to delay the vote so that they work to secure sufficient support for the bill, rather than insisting that the vote happens and the bill fails to get enough support.
You can now see how the situation in New York State is similar to what happened in New Jersey. Both processes have slowed or stalled because of insufficient support or disagreements among legislators despite the overwhelming public support for legalization.
Green Hygienics Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: GRYN) and Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) urge the legislators in New York State to listen to each other and reach a compromise for the good of the people in the state.
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