New York: Giambra Says Legalize Cannabis, Gov. Cuomo Says Study It

Marijuana legalization will likely play a significant role in New York’s gubernatorial election come Nov. 6, 2018.

Just 24-hours after New York’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Joel Giambra proposed legalizing adult-use marijuana to help fix the state’s underfunded transportation system on Monday, Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo issued a plan that will allow a panel to examine the consequences of legalizing recreational marijuana in the Empire State.

On Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo noted that legalization “is an important topic” and announced that he will appoint a panel to scrutinize the issue of legalizing marijuana. No longer referring to marijuana as a “gateway drug,” Cuomo’s newest politically expedient position on legalization was rolled out during the governor’s 2019 fiscal year Executive Budget Address.

Caught between the proverbial rock and a political hard place, the governor noted:

“If it was legalized in Jersey and it was legal in Massachusetts and the federal government allowed it to go ahead, what would that do to New York, because it’s right in the middle?”

The politics of pot heat up in New York State

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