New York state parliamentarians reached an agreement overnight Saturday to Sunday with the governor on a bill to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, the governor's office said on Sunday.
With a strong Democratic majority in the state parliament, the bill has a high chance of passage, and New York is expected to join 15 other US states as well as the federal capital Washington, which already allow recreational use of cannabis. .
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According to Governor Andrew Cuomo, legalization would generate $ 350 million in taxes annually and create tens of thousands of jobs.
The bill would allow adults 21 years of age and over to purchase cannabis, and to grow cannabis plants in their homes for personal consumption.
Part of the sums recovered through taxes will be reinvested in educational initiatives and the treatment of addictions.
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Legalizing cannabis use among adults is not only about creating a new market that will create jobs and benefit the economy, it is also about justice for people who have been marginalized for a long time, and it's making sure that those who have been unfairly penalized in the past now get a chance to benefit (from legalization), ”
said Andrew Cuomo.
Once the law comes into force, New York will automatically purge the criminal records of people who have previously been convicted of offenses that would no longer be illegal under the new law.
The new personal possession limit would be set at just over 85 grams.