New York’s In The Middle Of A New Push To Legalize Weed
Granted, it’s pretty big long shot, but nice to see that someone’s trying. Namely, State Senator Liz Krueger, who’s pushing a bill to legalize the sale of up to 2 ounces of marijuana, with a tax of $50 per ounce. “Elected officials are by definition risk-averse, but they jump on moving buses, and there’s a moving bus on this issue,” Krueger said in a press conference yesterday.
A very slow-moving bus. Much less progressive bills for medical marijuana and decriminalization of small amounts have already failed to pass in Albany this year, and as Gothamist points out, the states that have legalized weed (Washington and Colorado) have done so via referendums. Still, Krueger says she’s gotten a “very positive response” from colleagues, and has the support of at least five other state senators.
The bill will be introduced during next month’s legislative session, and, y’know, maybe the unexpected will happen. But then, in the words of Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, who’s been introducing medical marijuana bills since 1997, “Very often it happens that an idea takes years to move.”
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.