New York

On the Clock: Minding the Equity Gap in New York’s Legal Weed Era

by

Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Bob Beach. Beach is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Albany, SUNY.  

In March, the former Governor of New York signed legislation legalizing adult-use cannabis in New York. In a previous post, I introduced the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), and I discussed some of the important points in the legislation regarding the issues of equity and reinvestment in those communities overpoliced in the war on drugs (full details can be found on the state’s website).

Indeed, if the provisions of the MRTA are fully implemented as written, half of available retail licenses will be granted to specific targeted communities, including over-policed neighborhoods, women-led businesses, and disabled veterans. The dynamics discussed in this short post, however, demonstrate that many of these targeted groups will face an uphill battle to compete with other, more established license holders.

Cannabis Dispensary in Washington
Legal cannabis coming soon to New York? But will the industry live up to the state’s equitable promises? Image of legal cannabis products from a dispensary in Washington state courtesy of Beverly Yuen Thompson on Flickr.

Read more

Maybe Next Year: The Failure to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis in New York

by

Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Bob Beach, our resident New Yorker who provides insights into the his state’s twisted path to potential cannabis legalization. Beach is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Albany, SUNY.

On August 28, 2019, New York State officially decriminalized marijuana. Most saw decriminalization as an important step toward the even more equitable legalization measure that failed to pass the Democrat-led state legislature this year, but which seems inevitable given recent trends in legalizing (with the recent addition of Illinois this year). Particularly in light of the inevitable comparisons to Illinois, others are making connections to the “eerily similar” debates over decriminalization in New York in 1977 at the height of the state-level decriminalization wave that was then spreading throughout the country. During that year the New York State legislature passed, and then-Governor Hugh Carey signed, what was at the time the ninth state-level decriminalization measure in the country.

(Current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and then-Governor Hugh Carey)

Read more

Cannabis Legalization in New York: State of the State

by

Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Bob Beach. Beach is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Albany, SUNY, and our resident New Yorker. Here he comments on the state of cannabis legalization in the Empire State.

Back in January of this year, legalization of adult-use cannabis seemed inevitable in my home state of New York. Last month, during a recent public talk at Utica College, which we celebrated the stoner-holiday of 4/20 (on 4/25), I commented on the possibility of next year’s talk occurring under a legal system.

Screenshot 2019-05-14 at 8.07.11 AM

But maybe I spoke too soon. Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo, the champion of equitable legalization in January, declared it all but dead. At least for this year.

Read more

Drug War Critique: What Critics Get Wrong About Marijuana Legalization

by

Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Bob Beach. Beach is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Albany, SUNY, and discusses the brown bag talk he gave at Utica College earlier this week. 

Yesterday afternoon, I gave a talk entitled, “Drug War Critique: What Critics Get Wrong About Marijuana Legalization.” The talk is part of a monthly brown bag speaker series sponsored by Utica College’s Center for Historical Research. In light of New York State’s recent efforts to push for the legalization of marijuana as part of Andrew Cuomo’s 2019 Justice Agenda, I decided to present Cuomo’s legalization proposal and respond to a series of critiques of Cuomo’s plan presented by public officials and parent groups last week, who cited a threat to public safety as a justification for their opposition.

Screenshot 2019-02-14 at 8.26.51 AM

Read more

Andrew Cuomo’s Rooseveltian Moment

by

Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from contributing editor Bob Beach, a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Albany, SUNY. As one of Points’ resident New Yorkers, today Beach covers Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recent announcement that the Empire State hopes to legalize recreational marijuana in 2019. 

On December 17, at a speech at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, speaking in front of members of the New York City Bar Association, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo previewed his 20-point “Justice Agenda” for the 2019 legislative session. The December event was merely a preview of a governor’s State of the State address (which took place this Tuesday), but both speeches outlined a bold progressive agenda centered on a number of issues related to social justice, many of interest to readers of this forum.

 

screen shot 2019-01-17 at 8.04.46 am
Roosevelt House, Home of the New Deal, Home of Cuomo’s Social Justice Agenda

The references to a Rooseveltian moment for Cuomo during the December speech (though not in the State of the State Address) were hard to ignore. Institute director Harold Holzer reminded the audience that they were in the birthplace of the New Deal. As they approached the 90-year anniversary of FDR’s tenure as governor, Holzer invited the current Governor to the podium “to answer the question: What would FDR do today?” Cuomo himself then made several clear references to FDR’s influence throughout his speech.

Read more