After an agreement was reached on Friday over the text of the cannabis legalization bill, yesterday night lawmakers passed it by a vote of 100 to 49.
This bill opens up a market that is supposedly going to be one of the biggest in the USA, with expected revenue topping $300 million a year.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has already said that he is looking forward to signing the bill into law. "New York has a storied history of being the progressive capital of the nation, and this important legislation will once again carry on that legacy," he said in a statement.
Attorney General Letitia James said, "The legalization of cannabis is a racial and criminal justice imperative, and today’s vote is a critical step towards a fairer and more just system. For too long, people of color have been disproportionately impacted by an outdated and shortsighted cannabis prohibition, and it’s past time we right this wrong. We must also engineer an economy that will provide a much-needed boost to communities devastated by the war on drugs and COVID-19, and I am hopeful this will help to achieve that for New Yorkers.”