New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that time has likely already run out on New York’s efforts to legalize marijuana for 2019.
The Democrat governor said when speaking to reporters, that time is running too short and too many senators are politically opposed to legalization.
The Legislature has 11 work days left now in its annual session at the Capitol, which is scheduled to end June 19.
“I don’t think it is feasible at this point,” Cuomo remarked. “I don’t think it matters how much I push in 11 days. I think when the Senate says they don’t have the votes, I take them at their word.”
Senator Liz Krueger, the Manhattan Democrat who sponsors the bill that would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana for use by those over the age of 21, said to the Buffalo News there is not enough support yet to approve the measure in the Senate but suggested more senators could jump on board with Cuomo’s “full-throated support.”
“I’ve been consistent from the very beginning: This is a heavy lift,” Krueger said to reporters this week.
