New York State Democratic Party Endorses Cannabis Legalization

Meeting in the Long Island suburb town of Hempstead on May 23, the executive committee of the New York state Democratic Party passed a resolution calling for the legalization of cannabis, emphasizing that millions could be added to state coffers if it were taxed like alcohol. The resolution called for an excise tax rate of 13 percent — the same as for booze.

“The New York State Democratic Committee supports the legalization of marijuana which should be regulated and taxed in a manner similar to alcohol,” read the resolution adopted by delegates at the convention, according to the Marijuana Moment.

The resolution called legalization “an important social justice issue.” Echoing an increasingly popular sentiment in the state, it added: “Millions of peaceful Americans have been arrested, imprisoned, fined, or otherwise needlessly criminalized and stigmatized, potentially for life, because of their use of marijuana.”

“The Democratic party is excited about making this a platform resolution,” State Sen. Todd Kaminsky told CBS New York on the scene.

He, of course, added the requisite words of caution: “As a lawmaker, we have to make sure that it’s going to be rolled out responsibly, that our roads are going to be safe and that our children are going to be safe.”

With dizzying speed, cannabis has become an issue at the forefront of New York state politics ahead of November’s race for the governor’s office. The party delegates were clearly responding, at least in large part, to the insurgent candidacy of television star Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo from the left. She has made legalization a key campaign plank. The Cynthia for NY website is plugging a petition that reads: “It’s time for New York to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. In a blue state like New York, marijuana shouldn’t even be an issue. ‘Decriminalizing’ isn’t enough — we also have to correct past injustices, by expunging prior convictions disproportionately applied to people of color.”

At the Hempstead convention, Cuomo and Nixon faced off in a procedural fight for the party’s support. Cuomo emerged with a landslide victory, but the rhetoric in his acceptance speech reflected the threat of Nixon’s populist fire. “New York is the alternative state to Trump’s America,” he proclaimed, according to the Albany Times Union. He also dissed Republican challenger Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, as “mini-Trump.”

A longtime opponent of legalization, Cuomo also recently announced that he’d formed a panel to study the question of marijuana legalization in his state.

But this contest with the pro-legalization Nixon will play itself out again in the September state primary — and then again in the November election if (as seems likely) Cuomo gets the Democratic nomination in September and Nixon switches to the Working Families Party ticket.

Another big development this week was New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s surprise announcement that he is directing New York Police Department officers to stop making arrests for public toking. The Daily News reported that the policy change will be part of a 30-day review to address the glaring racial disparity in marijuana arrests in Gotham City. More audaciously still, de Blasio says he’ll also call a task force to explore how the city could respond to full legalization, hashing out issues such as how to deal with public smokers and what kind of zoning will be needed for dispensaries.

TELL US, does your state’s government support legal cannabis?