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Cuomo Calls for Legalization of Recreational Marijuana in 2019

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New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said on Monday that he was calling for legalizing recreational marijuana as part of his 2019 legislative agenda.

According to Newsday, the proposed action represents Cuomo’s “completing his own 180-degree turn on the issue, putting New York in line with 10 other states and potentially generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.”

Cuomo “was once the most powerful opponent of not only recreational marijuana but also medical marijuana before being pushed on the issue by state legislators,” the newspaper explained. “As recently as 2017, he called marijuana a “gateway drug.” But with other states and Canada legalizing it, and other Democrats calling it a matter of social justice, the governor’s position has changed.”

“It’s a big shift for the governor,” said Vox.com. “As Tom Angell reported for Marijuana Majority, “As recently as a year ago he called marijuana a ‘gateway drug.’ But 2018 has seen Cuomo’s position on the issue change dramatically, beginning amid an unexpectedly strong primary challenge from Cynthia Nixon, a progressive candidate who ran on a legalization platform.” Cuomo is also rumored to be considering a 2020 presidential bid, although he said in November that he’s ruled out a run.”

“Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all,” Cuomo said in a speech before the New York City Bar Association in Manhattan. He said legalization would be part of a “justice agenda” that would “address the forms of injustice that for too long have unfairly targeted the African-American and minority communities.”

CNN was kinder, saying only that Cuomo’s position on the issue “has evolved” since 2012, when he proposed that state legislators move to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana that are in public view, saying the aim was to avoid unnecessary misdemeanor charges against thousands of New Yorkers.

“A study commissioned by Cuomo in January to examine the effects of legalizing recreational marijuana found that greater government oversight would enable the state to enact health and safety standards and “reduce racial disparities in criminalization and incarceration rates.” Progressives have also pointed to increased tax revenue as a reason to legalize pot,” CNN reported.

The Daily News was more direct, noting that “Just last year, Gov. Cuomo stood on the side of public health when he stated he was against legalizing marijuana because “marijuana leads to other drugs and there’s a lot of proof that that’s true.” Now, in a sudden about-face, he is ignoring the state medical society and has officially called for the state legislature to legalize the drug. Given the high potency rates of today’s marijuana, Cuomo’s new position is dangerous for our state.”

The article presented research finding that show marijuana users “are almost three times more likely to abuse harder drugs like opioids. At a time when our nation is in the throes of an immense opioid epidemic, the governor should put our youth before political expediency.”

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