Effort to Legalize Marijuana in New York ‘Dead for Now’ - WSJ - Jimmy Vielkind:
June 19, 2019 - "A bill to legalize recreational marijuana for adults won’t be enacted this year in New York, its sponsor said Wednesday. State Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan, had been trying to amend her legislation to win support from Democrats representing suburban areas. No bill was filed by midnight on Tuesday.... In a text message on Wednesday morning, Ms. Krueger said her bill was “dead for now.”
"The omnibus marijuana bill would have created a new state agency to regulate cannabis, expunged the records of people previously convicted of marijuana possession and set aside a portion of state tax revenues — which proponents estimated would eventually be $300 million a year — for communities that were disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests.
"Democratic leaders of the state Assembly and Senate supported the broad parameters of the legalization effort, which was also led by Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat from Buffalo. But lawmakers have struggled for months to work out the details of a bill, at times clashing with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who advanced his own framework for a regulated market....
"The cadre of lobbyists pushing for the legalization bill — a loose alliance of drug decriminalization activists and medical-marijuana companies already operating in the state — will now pursue separate bills, one of them said Wednesday.
"They include a measure to further decriminalize marijuana and expunge records, make it easier for patients to access medical marijuana and a bill to regulate the growing hemp industry. Melissa Moore, deputy New York State director of the advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance said it would keep pushing for the omnibus bill. She faulted Mr. Cuomo and legislative leaders.
“'Comprehensive reform would have been an enormous economic driver for struggling communities across the state. But in a moment when they had a clear avenue for building up marginalized communities, they chose not to act. It’s pathetic,' Ms. Moore said."
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/effort-to-legalize-marijuana-in-new-york-dead-for-now-11560951764
'via Blog this'
June 19, 2019 - "A bill to legalize recreational marijuana for adults won’t be enacted this year in New York, its sponsor said Wednesday. State Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan, had been trying to amend her legislation to win support from Democrats representing suburban areas. No bill was filed by midnight on Tuesday.... In a text message on Wednesday morning, Ms. Krueger said her bill was “dead for now.”
"The omnibus marijuana bill would have created a new state agency to regulate cannabis, expunged the records of people previously convicted of marijuana possession and set aside a portion of state tax revenues — which proponents estimated would eventually be $300 million a year — for communities that were disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests.
"Democratic leaders of the state Assembly and Senate supported the broad parameters of the legalization effort, which was also led by Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat from Buffalo. But lawmakers have struggled for months to work out the details of a bill, at times clashing with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who advanced his own framework for a regulated market....
"The cadre of lobbyists pushing for the legalization bill — a loose alliance of drug decriminalization activists and medical-marijuana companies already operating in the state — will now pursue separate bills, one of them said Wednesday.
"They include a measure to further decriminalize marijuana and expunge records, make it easier for patients to access medical marijuana and a bill to regulate the growing hemp industry. Melissa Moore, deputy New York State director of the advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance said it would keep pushing for the omnibus bill. She faulted Mr. Cuomo and legislative leaders.
“'Comprehensive reform would have been an enormous economic driver for struggling communities across the state. But in a moment when they had a clear avenue for building up marginalized communities, they chose not to act. It’s pathetic,' Ms. Moore said."
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/effort-to-legalize-marijuana-in-new-york-dead-for-now-11560951764
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment