According to one analyst, New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo is ‘more motivated’ to legalize marijuana as calls accumulate for him to resign over sexual harassment allegations.
A BTIG analyst has written in a recent note that the governor is motivated now to legalize the plant. Lawmakers had introduced a legalization bill back in January that is still currently under negotiation.
According to the BTIG analyst, there could be a vote as early as this week before the state budget is due on April 1.
Cuomo is “more motivated now to pass a highly popular piece of legislation that could have the added benefit of shifting public attention and and at the same time notch a win for the state and himself” the analysis says, according to a report by Carl Quintanilla of MSNBC.
The bill would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older in New York to consume and grow. This is the fifth time a version of the bill has been proposed in New York in the last seven years.
Cuomo, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several women including former staff, is supportive of the bill.
In January the governor had said in a press briefing, “I think this should’ve been passed years ago,” Cuomo said. “I think too many people have been imprisoned, incarcerated, and punished,” Cuomo said. “Too many of those people are Black, Latino, and poor. It’s exaggerated the injustice of the justice system.”
The governor believes that by legalizing the plant, it could help raise revenue against the state’s $15 billion deficit.
Cuomo has previously said that 2021 would be a good time for potential legalization.
