A version of the bill was introduced by state senatorLiz Krueger in December, 2013. In January, 2018, the New York State Assembly Standing Committees on Codes, Health, and Alcohol and Drug Abuse opened public hearings on the bill. Testimony at the hearings came from those who thought the law would endorse a gateway drug, and those who thought it would decrease opioid abuse. The bill "stalled" in April, without sufficient Senate support, and was not included in the acts for the annual state budget. A new bill was introduced in mid May. The May 31 passage of the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, the first legalization and regulatory system entirely enacted by a state legislature, was said by a cannabis industry executive to have the potential to "pave the way" for legislation in Northeast states like New York and New Jersey. The bill did not receive a vote by the end of the session in June, 2019.
Provisions, revenue and administration
Tax revenue under the act for the City of New York is estimated by the state comptroller to be at least $400 million annually. The state legal market was reported by The New York Times to be worth $1.7 billion annually. The act would create the Office of Cannabis Management charged with all regulation related to cannabis, to include hemp. Amendments made in April–May included provisions for expungement of some past cannabis-related convictions. 300,000 convictions could be eligible.
Support and opposition
Support from the bill came from civil rights groups, citing racial inequities stemming from the War on Drugs. The New York Farm Bureau supported the bill. The district attorneys of Albany County and New York County, David Soares and Cyrus Vance Jr., published an op-ed in the New York Daily News supporting the bill, citing its correction of racial injustice and the freeing up of finite law enforcement resources for other matters. Vance had already ended prosecuting most marijuana offenses in New York City as of August, 2018. Opposition came from the out-of-state organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana who spent $10,000 on billboards criticizing legislators who promoted the bill. Long Island legislators not favoring the bill said that law enforcement had expressed "concerns" about cannabis and impaired driving, and legalization was opposed by New York State Association of PBAs and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police. New York State PTA opposed the bill.
