New York lawmakers decriminalized small amounts of marijuana after failing to agree on a comprehensive package that would have fully legalized the drug and provided revenue for social programs.
The state Senate passed its bill Thursday evening, 39-23, and the Assembly approved it early Friday, though a vote count wasn’t immediately available.
“This is not the final step, but it will lay the groundwork for full decriminalization and legalization,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement.
The measure allows individuals to avoid criminal penalties for holding less than two ounces (57 grams) of the drug. The law still calls for a $50 fine for holding less than an ounce, and $200 for one to two ounces. It also provides procedures to expunge records of convictions.
A bill to expand the medical use of cannabis was dropped from consideration.
Racial Lines
Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said the law would end racial disparity in enforcement. But legalization advocates said it wouldn’t prevent continuing patterns of discrimination; they say fines fall most heavily on black, Latino and poor people with the least ability to pay.
Decriminalization represented a compromise after legislative leaders scrapped a legalization bill Wednesday night. It failed to win enough support after some in law enforcement raised questions about its effect on traffic safety, and interest groups bickered over who would benefit from sales-tax revenue.
The debate occurred as a booming black market for marijuana flourishes throughout the state, particularly in New York City, where the drug is so ubiquitous its scent can be detected regularly on city streets. Smoking in public remains a misdemeanor or crime.
Eleven states have legalized sales of the drug, and only two -- Vermont and Illinois -- through legislative vote rather than a ballot initiative.
Pot Tax
For New York, legalization would have created a new industry and a statewide adult market of at least $3.1 billion, including at least $1.1 billion in sales within New York City, City Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a report backing legalization a year ago. Tax revenue would have exceeded $336 million for the city and $436 million for the state, he said.