Steve Katz: New York Anti-Cannabis Crusader Busted

GOP New York Assemblyman and anti-cannabis crusader Steve Katz was busted the morning of March 14 for possession of cannabis.

And Cannabis Now Magazine has learned from sources in Westchester, New York that Katz is apparently an “old pot head.”

“That was not [Katz’] first toke over the line, ” sources said to CNM.

Katz was first pulled over on the New York State Thruway by a New York State Trooper for driving 80 mph in 65 mph zone.

“After noting the odor of marijuana, a New York State Trooper found Katz in possession of a small bag of marijuana,” a State Police press release said.

According to police, Katz possessed a little under 25 grams.

Katz will appear in Coeymans Court on March 28 for unlawful possession of cannabis and speeding.

Katz later released a statement saying he “will not let this incident impede my public service and my calls for real mandate relief, a better economic climate and better services for those in need in New York. This should not overshadow the work I have done over the years for the public and my constituency.”

“I am confident that once the facts are presented that this will quickly be put to rest,” he said.

Ironically, over the years Katz has politically positioned himself as an anti-cannabis crusader. He and other GOP lawmakers have been a thorn on the side of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recent cannabis reform legislation.

Last year Katz voted against a medical cannabis bill.

Katz serves on five Assembly committees, including Higher Education, Mental Health and Alcoholism & Drug Abuse.

Katz mailed a fundraising letter to constituents that “our community has been stricken with an increase in drug use and drunk driving by our youngest citizens.”

On March 8, Katz wrote a press release about his community’s “struggle against illegal drug culture and the abuse of narcotics.”

Katz has been arrested before, once for putting a dead dog in a dumpster and once for hurting a Chihuahua during a stint as a veterinarian. There were no convictions on either arrest.

Calls to Katz’s office for comment were not returned.