ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling for the legalization and regulation of marijuana for recreational use by adults, his third attempt in as many years to get the drug fully legalized in New York.
Cuomo, a Democrat, planned to announce his proposal Wednesday as part of his upcoming State of the State agenda.
It calls for the creation of a new Office of Cannabis Management that would oversee recreational use as well as existing medical use.
Cuomo’s latest legalization proposal follows two unsuccessful attempts in 2019 and 2020 to fully legalize marijuana, which both fell short despite Democrats’ 2018 win of both chambers of the Legislature.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday said he supports legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana in New York.
“I’m a believer,” he said during a coronavirus briefing.
The mayor added the push to legalize recreational, adult use of marijuana should coincide with expunging criminal records of those who were penalized by “overzealous” and “bad laws of the past.”
