Marijuana proponents believe that a combination of widespread public acceptance and support from Governor Andrew Cuomo will lead to medical marijuana legislation being passed by New York’s state government this spring. The bill would make New York the 22nd state to legalize medical pot, as well as the third largest.
It’s somewhat surprising that New York, normally one of the more socially liberal states, took this long to pass a bill—but the dominos, as they say, are falling. Colorado is raking in millions and polls show its voters hold widespread support for legal recreational pot. With New York’s much larger population, millions could be generated by legalizing weed.
Unfortunately for those who just can’t FIND a joint in New York City—all 14 of you—the weed will be heavily restricted. California has its doctors write prescriptions for “glaucoma” on every corner; New York’s medical marijuana will only go to people with serious conditions.
From the New York Daily News:
Hoping to overcome the remaining opposition in the state Senate, advocates have revised the legislation to place tighter restrictions on how the drug can be used and who gets to use it.
The new version, introduced Friday, removed language that gave doctors freedom to prescribe pot for a wide array of symptoms. Instead, the new version limits its use to about 20 serious conditions, including cancer, traumatic brain injury, AIDS, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis and post- traumatic stress disorder.
The new version also prevents anyone under 21 from being able to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes – though they could be prescribed other forms of the drug – and forbids anyone with a felony narcotics conviction from working in a marijuana dispensary.
Anyway, marijuana is going to be legal everywhere within the decade. Who would have thought this issue would move so fast.