New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced support on Wednesday for the legalization of marijuana, on the heels of Governor Andrew Cuomo\u2019s announcement this week that he was planning to legalize marijuana early in his new term.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0New York Times<\/a>\u00a0noted on Dec. 19 that de Blasio had acknowledged the recommendations of NYC officials around legalization earlier in the year, but had stopped short of outright endorsing cannabis in the past. Three days after\u00a0Cuomo\u2019s statement<\/a>\u00a0on legalizing marijuana, de Blasio\u00a0came out with his own<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been convinced that we can establish a regulatory framework that keeps our streets safe, rights the wrongs of the past and gives economic opportunity to communities hit hardest by the war on drugs,\u201d de Blasio in a statement he released on the endorsement. \u201cI support legalization because we\u2019ve developed a path forward that will help make our City fairer. I look forward to working with the State as to make this a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan produced by the Mayor\u2019s Task Force on Cannabis Legalization earlier this year called for a strong, public health-focused regulatory framework and the empowerment of local government to prevent corporate greed, foster small businesses and meet the demands of all five boroughs various communities. Another major aspect of the recommendations is writing the wrongs of the past, especially for those\u00a0700,000 New Yorkers<\/a>\u00a0still living with a low-level marijuana conviction.<\/p>\n The Speaker of the New York City Council Corey Johnson backed de Blasio\u2019s move in the statement.<\/p>\n \u201cI have long supported the legalization of recreational marijuana, and I am looking forward to reviewing these recommendations,\u201d said Johnson, \u201cAlthough whites, blacks, and Latinos smoke marijuana at roughly the same rates, minorities have been arrested disproportionally for low-level marijuana possession.\u201d<\/p>\n Like de Blasio, Johnson believes it\u2019s time for officials in a city famous for\u00a0past draconian cannabis policing<\/a>\u00a0to help the communities most devastated by decades of targeted enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a responsibility to undo these past wrongs. As New York looks to move forward with decriminalizing marijuana, we must ensure that part of the conversation includes expunging convictions of people with low-level possession offenses,\u201d said Johnson.<\/p>\n NYC\u2019s First Lady Chirlane McCray also gave her thoughts on the plan. McCray leads the city\u2019s efforts against problematic substance use.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we go down the path toward legalization of marijuana in our city and state, let us recognize that it is not without risks,\u201d said McCray. \u201cWe must do everything we can to protect our city\u2019s young people, and educate all New Yorkers about marijuana use. That\u2019s why this report is so important, and I urge state lawmakers use the recommendations as a guide for their work in the months ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0Drug Policy Alliance<\/a>\u00a0is headquartered in New York City, where they\u2019ve been a driving force in marijuana reform. They said with support from Cuomo, de Blasio, New York\u2019s Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes and bill sponsor Senator Liz Kruger chairing the Senate Finance Committee, the question is no longer\u00a0should<\/i>\u00a0New York legalize marijuana, but what legalization will look like.<\/p>\n Kassandra Frederique leads DPA\u2019s efforts in New York as State Director.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York is on the cusp of ending our failed war on marijuana and taking the historic step of legalizing it for adult use.\u201d<\/p>\n Frederique and DPA believe for legalization to be responsive to the landscape of harm done in New York, it must remove criminal records, implement legalization in a way that ensures equity and diversity and direct tax revenue from legal sales toward rebuilding the communities hit hardest by marijuana criminalization.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act does all of these things, so New York City and the state legislature have a golden opportunity to get legalization right,\u201d said Frederique.<\/p>\n TELL US,<\/b>\u00a0are you excited for the prospect of legal cannabis in New York City?<\/p>\n The post De Blasio Backs Reform: Legal Pot in a New York Minute?<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced support on Wednesday for the legalization of marijuana, on the heels of Governor Andrew Cuomo\u2019s announcement this week that he was planning to legalize marijuana early in his new term. The\u00a0New York Times\u00a0noted on Dec. 19 that de Blasio had acknowledged theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4256,50,216,592,6854,208,593,3584,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31595,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31594\/revisions\/31595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}New York State Moves Toward Cannabis Legalization<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: De Blasio Backs Reform: Legal Pot in a New York Minute?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"