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With just days left before the end of the legislative session, efforts to legalize marijuana in New York have been revived, with a possible vote this coming week.

Though momentum to pass a legalization measure seemed to largely die off after lawmakers in neighboring New Jersey announced they wouldn’t move forward with plans to end cannabis prohibition through the legislature, advocates are increasingly optimistic that a deal in the Empire State is imminent.

Democratic members in both the Senate and Assembly held conferences last week to discuss details of the legislation. Spectrum News reported that the meetings went well, with members indicating that there’s support for the measure.

That’s just one of several positive signs that a proposal many observers thought was dead for the year has new life.

On Saturday, staff for legislative leaders from both chambers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) are reportedly negotiating the text of final legalization legislation expected to be released on Sunday evening.

Source says three way talks on marijuana taking place today in Albany among staff of two legislative leaders and @NYGovCuomo
Final bill expected to be posted Sunday night

— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) June 15, 2019

On Wednesday, an earlier Senate version of the bill was assigned “same as” status in the Assembly version. That means the current proposals in each chamber lined up with identical language and is considered to be an indicator that the legislation could pass.

👀 pic.twitter.com/3iy7Q46hYB

— Mike Baggerman (@MikeBaggerman) June 14, 2019

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) said on Friday that his party has yet to determine whether they’ll bring the bill to the floor, but he added that “I think there is support in the conference.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters his conference hasn’t made a decision yet on whether to put a bill legalizing marijuana on the floor for a vote.

“We haven’t made a final decision yet, but I think there is support in the conference,” he said.

— Jon Campbell (@JonCampbellGAN) June 14, 2019

He also characterized the window of time until the end of the session on Wednesday as “an eternity.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says there is no final determination on a marijuana legalization bill, but notes there is “an eternity” between now and the end of session on Wednesday.

— Nick Reisman (@NickReisman) June 14, 2019

Cuomo, who said late last month that passing legalization remains a top 10 priority, has said that lawmakers who fail to approve items on his agenda, including ending cannabis prohibition, “should all be primaried, because that is a failure of a basic progressive agenda.”

On the flip side, the chairman of New York’s Democratic Party said earlier this month that if the Senate approves the legalization bill, they run to risk of alienating voters in certain areas such as Long Island and upstate New York. But that argument neglects to account for recent polling that shows voters in those regions strongly support legalization.

Notably, the measure’s most vocal opponents with the anti-legalization Smart Approaches to Marijuana have been sending email blasts in recent days urging their supports to call senators and voice opposition to the bill, giving the impression that the group is anticipating a vote.

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D), sponsor of the legalization legislation, seemed to confirm that suspicion on Friday, stating that after “conversations with my co-sponsor and colleague in the Senate, I am even more confident of a path for victory.”

.@CPeoplesStokes on status of marijuana legislation: “After conversations with my co-sponsor and colleague in the Senate, I am even more confident of a path for victory.”

— Yancey Roy (@YanceyRoy) June 14, 2019

But despite that confidence, the fate of legalization in New York remains murky. An analysis earlier this month found that legalization was two votes short of a needed majority in the Senate.

The session ends on Wednesday, and so far no vote has been scheduled in either chamber. Meanwhile, advocates are waiting with bated breath for further developments to come out of Albany.

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Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.