New York finally appears poised to legalize adult-use cannabis. However, to get there, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic state legislature must resolve a raging debate over social equity goals that address the consequences of the decades-long war on drugs. Members of Congress who dream of federal legalization should pay close attention to these negotiations.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – 2016/05/07: Over 400 people took part in the Cannabis … [+]
New York’s Legalization Prospects
On January 16, Governor Cuomo introduced his plan to legalize adult-use cannabis, called the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA). Preliminarily, it’s important to understand why cannabis legalization appears to be inevitable in New York in 2021 – and even in the face of the multiple scandals currently buffeting Governor Cuomo.
During each of the last two years, Governor Cuomo tried unsuccessfully to push for adult-use cannabis legalization, but, this year, the political calculation changed.
Neighboring New Jersey voted to legalize last year, setting a precedent in the tri-state area. Additionally, New York is facing a reported $4 billion budget shortfall for Fiscal Year 2020-21. Although tax revenues from legal cannabis sales would not plug the budget deficit, they would dent it. And 60% of New York’s voters support cannabis legalization, according to a November 2020 Sienna College survey. In sum, legalization would be a no-brainer for New York lawmakers.
Dueling Plans
Immediately after introducing his bill, Governor Cuomo’s plan attracted incoming fire from the progressive left. During a Zoom press conference, New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D) said, “Clearly, his tax proposals are all wrong, clearly his social equity proposals are all wrong, so there are a number of things that need to be fixed and if they’re not fixed, we’ll be here next year doing the same thing.” Consequently, Democratic legislators introduced an updated bill from last year, the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act (MRTA).
Although these bills share a common goal, they have striking differences for how to achieve it.
For example, the bills clashed on how to address penalties for the sale of cannabis to those between the ages of 18 and 21. Initially, the governor’s bill sought to make this crime a class D felony, which could result in up to 2.5 years of jail time. By contrast, the legislature’s bill would classify this offense as a misdemeanor.
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The CRTA provision was unacceptable for social justice activists, including Eli Northrup, policy counsel for The Bronx Defenders, who said, “If criminal penalties exist for marijuana, those laws are not going to be enforced evenly. They’re going to be enforced disproportionately for people of color.”
Bowing to pressure from advocates, Governor Cuomo amended his provision.
The MRTA goes farther on social equity, too, creating a program to help individuals from underserved communities or who have been convicted of minor crimes to be permitted to work in the legal cannabis industry. Today, those with such histories would not be allowed to take jobs in the sector.
The two bills also prescribe different approaches toward revenue from legal cannabis sales. The CRTA dictates that $50 million annually in cannabis tax revenues would go toward New York’s Community Reinvestment Grant Program to aid communities particularly impacted by the failed policies of the war on drugs. Meanwhile, the MRTA would allocate a specific percentage of cannabis tax revenues to the Community Reinvestment Grant Program, tying the growth of the market as an incentive to a corresponding growth in revenue amounts.
Clues for the U.S. Congress
While movement on legalization in the Beltway could be a harder feat than in Albany, themes from the New York debate already have resonance in Washington.
For example, in discussing the SAFE Banking Act, which would, among other things, extend federally overseen banking services to legal cannabis businesses, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) explained, “I don’t think we move on legalization the way that Colorado and some other states want us to, unless we really look more seriously at who’s in prison for how long for those kinds of offenses and we don’t do one without the other.”
This is just one example, and it follows a flurry of activity during the last congressional session when House members were divided over how much deference to give social equity issues over the practical goal of passing legalization bills without them. With a Republican Senate at the time, it was a moot issue as no legislation became law, but it was an instructive test run. Regardless, we can expect some congressional leaders to continue to tie their support for cannabis sector bills to robust efforts to social equity and criminal justice reform measures.
Interestingly, in the Senate, the push for legislation that either legalizes cannabis or achieves reforms short of it, such as the SAFE Banking Act, will be led by another high-profile New Yorker, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Per the New York Times, Schumer is keen to avoid a tough primary challenge from the left during his 2022 reelection. Adopting a strong social equity-oriented approach to cannabis legislation that resembles Senator Brown’s position could benefit Schumer in helping to neutralize one salient issue in a primary challenge. On the other hand, moderate senators may be less willing to approve aggressive social equity provisions and may only support more modest legislation short of full-scale legalization in any event.
In the end, Schumer will have to reconcile these positions in order to pass cannabis reform. Watching and learning from the debate back home will undoubtedly help inform his own efforts.