Cuomo vows New York ‘will legalize adult-use recreational cannabis’

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) vowed on Monday that his state will legalize recreational cannabis as he begins ramping up efforts in the new year to green-light legislation to legalize it.

“We will legalize adult-use recreational cannabis, joining 15 states that have already done so,” he tweeted on Monday. The move, Cuomo said, will “raise revenue and end the failed prohibition of this product that has left so many communities of color over-policed and over-incarcerated.”

Last week, Cuomo, who has made efforts in the past to make recreational marijuana legal in the state, announced a new proposal that aimed to legalize and establish an office that would oversee and regulate cannabis.

Cuomo’s office said in the announcement that the new body would oversee the state’s adult-use program in addition to the state’s “existing medical and cannabinoid hemp programs.”

“Additionally, an equitable structure for the adult-use market will be created by offering licensing opportunities and assistance to entrepreneurs in communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs,” his office said.

The state estimated at the time that legalization of recreational marijuana would help rake in over $300 million in tax revenue. [Read more at The Hill]