The governors of New York and Connecticut announced plans Wednesday to meet with regional partners to discuss legalizing recreational marijuana in their respective states.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, both Democrats, said during a press conference that they plan to work with counterparts within the northeast corridor to figure out how to go about potentially legalizing pot in the face of federal prohibition.
“We don’t have, frankly, in my opinion, a federal government that is providing leadership on these issues. We’re getting out of Washington a lot of confusion and a lot of debate, and basically they’re saying to the states, ’You are on your own’,” Mr. Cuomo told reporters in West Hartford, Connecticut. “So If we are on our own, let’s hook our boats together and let’s see if we can find our way through this storm.”
“If we can do that together going forward, I think that would be a priority for both of us,” agreed Mr. Lamont.
Thirty-three states and D.C. have passed laws legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana to varying degrees, including New York and Connecticut. Neither are among the 10 states and counting where adults can legally use marijuana for recreational purposes, however, notwithstanding unsuccessful efforts in their legislatures last season to join that list.
Legalizing marijuana “collective and regionally makes sense,” continued Mr. Cuomo, who said the governors intend to convene a meeting next month with “regional partners and try to talk that through.”
Mr. Lamont said the governors planned to work together, “state by state, and perhaps with our neighboring states in Rhode Island and New Jersey and beyond,” ahead of drafting any proposed regulations for potentially legalizing recreational marijuana.
“We won’t agree on everything. We’re not supposed to. We’re supposed to represent the people of our respective states,” said Mr. Cuomo. “But the conversation is always good. The discussion is always good. And I believe we are going to find many common paths to a better future.”
The meeting is set for Nov. 5, with Mr. Cuomo hoping to have a legislative proposal ready by the time he delivers his annual state of the state address in early 2020.
Seven of the 10 states with laws in place legalizing recreational marijuana currently allow for adults to purchase pot from regulated dispensaries: Alaska, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state. Marijuana laws differ state-by-state, however, meaning products sold at licensed dispensaries in Los Angeles, for example, are subject to different rules, regulations and tax rates than to items sold at pot shops in Las Vegas.
Discussing the patchwork of marijuana laws earlier this week, Mr. Cuomo called them “counterproductive.”
“I said before, people drive across the border, they buy a better product, or they buy a cheaper product, or they buy marijuana with more THC, or they buy marijuana that comes in a different form, and now you have people driving and possibly smoking marijuana at the same time,” he said Tuesday.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is “open to collaborating with regional partners” on marijuana legalization, an administration official told The Washington Times.
Representatives for Rhode Island Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, a fellow Democrat, did not immediately return a message requesting comment.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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