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NY Cannabis Legalization Could Be Near As Lawmakers Roll Up Deal
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said legal weed is one of his top priorities in the state budget due at the start of April.
Matt Troutman, Patch Staff
Verified Patch Staff Badge
Posted Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 1:37 pm ET|Updated Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 4:01 pm ET
NEW YORK CITY — Embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo hopes the state's chances of legalizing cannabis don't go up in smoke — and it appears lawmakers are ready to roll up a deal.
Cuomo on Wednesday listed legal weed as his first priority for the state's upcoming budget, which has an April 1 deadline.
"Getting it done by the time the budget is passed is essential," he said.
Within minutes of Cuomo's statement, State Sen. Liz Krueger that legislative leaders reached a deal to legalize recreational marijuana, Bloomberg Government reporter Keisha Clukey first reported.
https://twitter.com/KeshiaClukey/status/1374775949959520256?s=20
Other outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal, reported afterward that New York is poised to become the 15th state to legalize cannabis. Lawmakers likely will vote next week on a measure that takes effect by next year, according to the Journal.
It's a long-sought goal by advocates, many lawmakers and Cuomo himself. He admitted Wednesday that three years of attempts to legalize hemp and recreational marijuana failed to spark up.
The inaction left the state's would-be cannabis industry high and dry as legal markets got set up in Massachusetts and across the river from New York City in New Jersey.
Legal pot in neighboring states effectively ends the debate, Cuomo said.
"We have passed the point of legalized cannabis," he said.
Cuomo's even-more-outspoken support for legalized cannabis came amid a news conference packed with announcements.
And for the first time in days, Cuomo also took questions from reporters. WABC's Dave Evans asked about increasing doubts about whether he can perform his job amid a sexual harassment scandal and potential impeachment inquiry.
"I say it's clearly not true," Cuomo said. "Because the reality is the exact opposite."
Not all politicians are so sure. Mayor Bill de Blasio just that morning again said Cuomo can no longer govern.
"I think he should resign so we can move forward in this state," de Blasio said.
Cuomo's vocal stance on legalizing cannabis — a popular issue in the state — belies that state lawmakers have been working on such a measure independently from the budget.
Krueger told the Wall Street Journal that a soon-to-be-finalized bill would create a new state regulator for cannabis products, decriminalize possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana and allow New Yorkers to cultivate marijuana for their personal use.
“Using .gov and increasing trust that government communications are authentic will improve our collective cybersecurity,” said Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for CISA’s Cybersecurity Division. “People see a .gov website or email address and know they are interacting with an official, U.S.-based government organization. Using .gov also provides security benefits, like two-factor authentication on the .gov registrar and notifications of DNS changes to administrators, over other TLDs. We’ll endeavor to make the TLD more secure for the American public and harder for malicious actors to impersonate.”
Murphy signed the long-awaited cannabis legalization law on Monday, along with a decriminalization law that ended arrests for possession immediately. But many pieces of the legalization law do not become operative until the commission adopts rules and regulations to guide licensing of new businesses, workplace drug testing and funding for community programs.
Until that happens, there will not be legal marijuana sales.
The law establishes an enforcement power, but makes it illegal for law enforcement to use that power. It creates civil penalties for underage drinking or marijuana use, but also penalizes any officer found to have stopped, searched or detained those suspected of using these substances without meeting probable cause standards. The officer could face a charge of deprivation of civil rights — a third degree offense subject to 3-5 years in prison, a fine of $15,000 or both.
According to a New Jersey Policemen’s Benevolent Association analysis, this means any officer who sees or smells marijuana or alcohol cannot even inquire about the age of the user to ensure the user can legally possess these substances. The law permanently ties an officer’s hands.
More than three years after he took office with hopes of legalizing marijuana in 100 days, Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills that together legalize marijuana in New Jersey and put an end to thousands of arrests.
As Trenton debates how police should handle youth marijuana use, cops around the state continue to arrest people of all ages for an offense many expected to become legal in 2021: minor marijuana possession. The laws on weed could change as soon as Monday, and those under 21 might face only fines for using marijuana or drinking if a new bill passes. But for now, the old rules stand.
...the bill includes penalties for police who misuse their power when interacting with underage people on these offenses. If police intentionally and illegally stop, search or detain people for underage drinking or marijuana use, they could face a third degree charge of deprivation of civil rights. That’s punishable by a fine of $15,000 and up to five years in jail.
BOISE, Idaho -- As legal weed becomes a reality in every corner of the U.S., Idaho is putting up a fight.
State lawmakers on Friday moved forward with a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar the legalization of marijuana in Idaho in an attempt to keep the growing nationwide acceptance of the drug from seeping across its borders.
Idaho is one of only three states without some sort of policy allowing residents to possess products with even low amounts of THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.
Furthering efforts to provide relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 shutdown, the governor signed a law on Friday that caps the fees charged by food delivery apps, such as Grubhub, DoorDash and Seamless.
The law caps service fees from delivery companies at 20% of the total bill. However, on orders delivered by the restaurant's own delivery person, the cap lowers to 10% of the order's cost.
The bill was passed by the state Assembly earlier this month, 75-1, and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday.
When the feature was announced, Facebook, which makes money from selling ads, claimed it would hurt developers. Apple responded saying: "When invasive tracking is your business model, you tend not to welcome transparency and customer choice."