Opponents Try to Extinguish Marijuana Debate

The three Democrats who largely control Albany say legalizing marijuana is one of their top priorities for 2019.

But with all the behind-the-scenes haggling over everything from what to do with sales tax revenue to regulations controlling who can sell weed, the question for the last month has been whether a deal would be part of the state budget for next year, due by April 1, or whether it would come in the remaining three months of the annual legislative session.

Publicly, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have indicated legalization won’t happen in the budget agreement, while Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has indicated it’s very much alive.

Advocates opposed to making marijuana a new “third vice” – in addition to alcohol and tobacco – are trying to pressure lawmakers into debating the downside of the drug. They’re saying that they, too, want to change how it’s policed and prosecuted, especially in light of the systemic bias against people of color. But they say political leaders are overlooking marijuana’s dangers.

“The consensus is that using marijuana regularly does alter areas of the brain that are involved in cognition and thought processes in memory and learning,” said Dr. Frank Dowling, a Long Island psychiatrist working with the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “And the long-term usage, especially as a teen or young adult, can lead to long-term cognitive issues, even if someone stops using later on in life.”

With New Jersey teetering on the cusp of declaring marijuana legal, joining Canada to the north and Massachusetts to the east, opponents are fighting an uphill battle, politically. But they’re hoping if arguments over implementation details can defer the legalization drive until later in the spring, they can at least try to jump-start the larger debate.

“In New Jersey, they said they were going to legalize it in 100 days, a year and a half ago, and they still haven't legalized it yet,” said Luke Niforatos, Senior Policy Advisor for SAM.

A vote in the Garden State is scheduled for today.