Marijuana Could Become Legal In New York

ALBANY, NY — New York could become the next state to legalize marijuana for recreational use even as federal officials prepare to crack down on the drug. State officials plan to study how legal pot could impact New York and evaluate the potential effects of legalization in neighboring states such as Vermont and Massachusetts, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

The state Department of Health would work with the State Police to examine how the legalization and regulation of marijuana would impact the economy, public health and criminal justice system in New York, Cuomo said.

"It's a hotly debated topic, pardon the pun, and it'd be nice to have some facts in the middle of the debate once in a while," Cuomo said in his annual budget address Tuesday.

The Democratic governor proposed funding for the study in his $168 billion 2018 budget, which the state Legislature must approve. It's unclear when the study would start or conclude.

New York has restrictive rules for selling medical marijuana, which is legal in 28 other states. But legalizing recreational marijuana has become popular in recent years even though federal laws still prohibit the drug.

It's also popular with the public — 62 percent of New York voters support legalizing marijuana for use by adults 21 and older, according to a 2017 poll commissioned by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project Foundation.

Eight states have voted to legalize, regulate and tax pot since 2012. In his inauguration speech Monday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy pledged to legalize marijuana in his first 100 days in office, according to CBS News. Cuomo's study would also evaluate how legalization in nearby states could impact New York, the governor said.

Cuomo's consideration of legalizing marijuana follows U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' pledge to enforce the federal ban on the drug even in states where it's legal. The Republican rolled back a previous policy earlier this month that let states decide on their own how to treat marijuana.

It's uncertain how Sessions' move would impact a legalization effort in New York. But Cuomo acknowledged Tuesday that the state would have to navigate the disparate realities of more widespread legalization elsewhere and a possible federal crackdown.

"New Jersey may legalize marijuana. Massachusetts already has. On the other hand, Attorney General Sessions says he's going to end marijuana in every state," Cuomo said in his speech. So you have the whole confluence of different information."

State lawmakers and advocates who support marijuana legalization praised Cuomo's proposal for a study. They argue legalization would boost the state's economy and cut down on criminal prosecutions for minor drug possession crimes.

"I firmly believe that New York can develop an approach to marijuana regulation that addresses public health concerns while reducing the exposure of so many people, and particularly young people of color, to interactions with the criminal justice system that have much more damaging life consequences than marijuana use," said state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), who's sponsored a bill that would legalize, regulate and tax pot.

(Lead image: Marijuana plants grow in a dispensary in Los Angeles in 2012. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)