Legalizing marijuana in New York recommended by health commissioner

Jon Campbell | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

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ALBANY — A much-anticipated study on recreational marijuana will recommend legalizing the drug in New York, the state's top health regulator said Monday.

Howard Zucker, New York's health commissioner, told reporters in Brooklyn that the Department of Health's ongoing study on marijuana in New York is nearly finished and has concluded the state should move ahead with legalizing and regulating the drug.

The study will soon be finalized and delivered to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who ordered the study in January after neighboring states Massachusetts and Vermont took action to allow marijuana for recreational purposes.

"We looked at the pros, we looked at the cons," Zucker said.

"And when we were done, we realized that the pros outweigh the cons and the report recommends that a regulated, legal marijuana program be available to adults in the state of New York."

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Zucker said the study, which was performed by the Department of Health, looked at a variety of issues surrounding marijuana legalization, including where it would be grown, how it would be distributed and how much it should be taxed.

It also considered what the minimum age to possess and use marijuana should be.

He did not release any of the specifics of the study or give a timetable for its release, other than to say it would be completed "soon."

Public support

A poll released last month by Quinnipiac University showed a majority of New York voters support legalizing "small amounts" of marijuana for personal use.

All told, 63 percent of those polled said they support it, including 71 percent of Democrats. Republicans were more wary: 56 percent were opposed.

Cuomo, meanwhile, has been slower to embrace legal marijuana than many within his party, calling it a "gateway drug" as recently as last year.

But Cuomo launched the marijuana study in January amid the movement by neighboring states, tasking the Department of Health and other state agencies with weighing the implications.

Legalizing the drug will likely have to wait until 2019 at the earliest.

The state Legislature is scheduled to end its 2018 session on Wednesday, and the Republicans who lead the narrowly divided state Senate haven't embraced legalization. All 213 state legislative seats are on the ballot this year.

Latest reaction

Advocates for marijuana legalization were pleased to hear Zucker's comments Monday, but said they will wait to see the full study before embracing his position.

In particular, advocates are hoping the report addresses the criminal justice issues related to marijuana legalization, including what to do with prior convictions under the state's marijuana laws.

"We're encouraged that they would like to move forward with legalization in the state but we're very interested in seeing the full details," said Melissa Moore, New York deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Legal marijuana opponents accused Cuomo's administration of acting on politics, noting Cynthia Nixon — the Sex and the City star challenging Cuomo from the left in a Democratic primary — supports legalizing the drug.

Cuomo's GOP opponent Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, knocked Zucker's announcement — as did other opponents.

"I think Andrew Cuomo is a political creature and everything he does should be viewed through the lens of politics," said Jason McGuire, executive director of Spencerport-based conservative group New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms.