It’s a done deal: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs a law legalizing adult-use recreational marijuana, making the state the 15th to sanction easier access to weed. Legalization is touted as a way to boost state tax revenues and help communities disproportionately harmed by the failed war on drugs. But with lax rules and regulations on use—including home-delivery services, on-site consumption, and lenient penalties for drugged DUI—the law poses a threat to public health and safety especially in light of new findings that marijuana is as addictive for adolescents and teens as prescription opioids. But that apparently doesn’t figure into the political equation.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer is preparing legislation to end federal-level prohibition of pot, in what would be the biggest overhaul of drug policy in decades. The bill being drafted by the New York Senator goes beyond decriminalization by removing pot from the list of controlled substances and enables the feds to tax and regulate it (and of course win support from progressives for the Senator’s next reelection bid).
And finally, is President Biden waging a one-man war against weed by cracking down on White House hires that have used the drug? A story in Politico says more staff have been let go under the edict that had been previously known, and that other federal agencies and departments are also scrutinizing past drug use. The battle over marijuana is a simmering point of contention between Biden and the left-wing of the party that regards his moderate position as “outmoded and antiquated.”