New York Drops Cannabis Legalization From Budget Bill

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]N[/dropcap]ew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that a bill legalizing cannabis and the expected revenue would not be included in the state’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins April 1.

The governor had previously warned legislative leaders that revenues from legalizing cannabis would be needed to help balance a budget with a deficit of more than $3 billion, and legalized recreational cannabis was expected to bring in $300 million in tax revenue over three years. Cuomo, who announced a plan to legalize cannabis in New York late last year, said he predicts the state will pass a legalization bill before the end of the legislative session on June 19. “For us, marijuana is a relatively new issue,” Cuomo said. “It really started with my proposal this year but they have signaled that they need more time to talk about it. Therefore I didn’t want to count the revenue for marijuana in this budget.”

Although Democrats control both chambers of the state’s legislative body, passing a standalone cannabis bill could prove to be more difficult outside of the budget. Cuomo said he believes it’s easier to pass a “controversial” issue like cannabis when it’s combined with the spending plan and other policy issues as part of a bigger package.

Legislative leaders have already said it would be better to create a plan for legalized cannabis outside of the time constraints of the state budget due at the end of the month. Assemblyman Kevin Cahill has voiced his opinion about removing cannabis legalization from the budget. By removing legalization from the budget, Cahill said the governor views cannabis legalization as a budgetary matter, which shows his focus is “seriously misplaced.”

“In other words, if it also makes revenue for New York, fine, but that should not be the basis for legalization and it is not the key issue on the minds of those of us in the legislature,” Cahill said.