It's not completely legal, but in 30 days marijuana use in the state of New York will be a little less illegal. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Monday that further decriminalized the use of marijuana.

The legislation addresses racial and ethnic disparities in existing marijuana laws that disproportionately affect black and Latino communities. It will reduce the penalty for unlawful possession of marijuana to a violation punishable by a fine and create a process for individuals who have been convicted for possessing small amounts of pot to have their records expunged.

Cuomo first proposed decriminalizing marijuana in 2013 and again in the 2020 budget. "Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana for far too long, and today we are ending this injustice once and for all," Cuomo said.

"By providing individuals who have suffered the consequences of an unfair marijuana conviction with a path to have their records expunged and by reducing draconian penalties, we are taking a critical step forward in addressing a broken and discriminatory criminal justice system," he said. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat whose District 35 serves Greenburgh and Scarsdale and parts of Yonkers, White Plains and New Rochelle, said decriminalizing marijuana was an essential part of reforming the state's broken justice system.

"The Senate Democratic Majority will continue our efforts for full legalization and regulation of marijuana, and today's decriminalization is a good first step," she said.

Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, whose District 36 includes parts of Mount Vernon and the Bronx, thanked the Assembly and Senate members and Gov. Cuomo for their commitment to the issue.

"Marijuana possession gives those convicted a criminal record that will follow them throughout their lives, potentially limiting their access to education, affecting their ability to obtain employment leading to a potential inability to provide for their families," he said. "The creation of a mechanism for expungement, both retroactively and forward-looking, is a step in the right direction in finally ending the heavy-handed war on drugs that has decimated communities of color," Bailey said.