When the $17 billion state budget was adopted without marijuana policy reflected in it, cannabis advocates were crestfallen because they realized that their dream of seeing marijuana legal for adult-use had just taken a major hit. However, Governor Andrew Cuomo has vowed that he will do everything possible to pass the law by June when the legislative session ends.
The Governor said that the problem wasn’t the lack of political will to pass the law. Rather, there were differing opinions regarding the way in which legalization would be implemented in the state.
Because of those differing views on implementation, it wasn’t possible to reach an agreement on the matter while getting a budget ready for adoption. Now that the budget is out of the way, Cuomo feels that his full attention can now be devoted to hammering out the details of how recreational cannabis will be taxed, regulated and social justice attained.
Many lawmakers aren’t as optimistic as the Governor regarding the chances of the bill now that it isn’t included in the budget. For example, State Sen. Diane Savino points to what happened in neighboring New Jersey where marijuana advocates thought they had a done deal but voting on the legalization bill was cancelled due to fears that not enough “yes” votes had been secured in the State Senate.
That sobering example from New Jersey shows how tough things could get in New York State now that marijuana policy wasn’t included in the state budget.
It should also be remembered that out of the 10 states and Washington, D.C. that have legalized recreational pot, only one did so by legislative means. All the other states relied on ballot measures or referenda to legalize recreational cannabis.
This statistic shows that the general populace is always ahead of the lawmakers who have the responsibility to make decisions on behalf of the people that they represent.
It is therefore going to be a great deal harder for a majority of the lawmakers in New York State to pass a standalone marijuana legalization bill.
Already, there was intense opposition even while there was a chance that marijuana legalization would be included in the state budget. For example, the leaders in two of the New York suburbs with the largest population have already indicated that the sale of recreational cannabis will not be allowed in those jurisdictions.
TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) and Vivo Cannabis Inc. (TSX.V: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF) hope that the lawmakers can put aside their political differences and put the interests of New Yorkers first when discussing the way forward on marijuana legalization.
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