NY can lead the nation with equitable marijuana legalization | Opinion

With newly installed Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature and a governor who has signaled his unequivocal support this week, many believe it is a foregone conclusion that New York will finally join other states in responsibly regulating marijuana use this year. That’s welcome news, and it’s long overdue. But it’s also abundantly clear that getting it done is not the same as getting it right.

As lobbyists, activists and lawmakers haggle over competing proposals to establish legal marijuana access for adults, there are several non-negotiable tenets that must be included in any legislative deal. Chief among them is the abiding principle that New York's marijuana legalization package must be laser-focused on putting impacted communities first.

First and foremost, adult use marijuana regulation must address the harms wrought by the decades-long war on drugs. Treating this as an issue of both economic and criminal justice reform, New York must use any legalization proposal as a vehicle to right the wrongs of the past and build the foundations for a more equitable future. This means not only ending housing and employment discrimination for communities devastated after years of criminalization and racist enforcement, but also the critical step of allowing re-sentencing for individuals with marijuana convictions. It’s also time for the state to remove a positive marijuana test as the sole factor determining a parole or probation violation, as New York City has already done.

New York's marijuana regulation law must ensure the newly created industry is both equitable and diverse. One benefit of not being the first state to end marijuana prohibition is that we have a much clearer sense of which programs have worked well and which ones have fallen short in other states. Adopting and building upon the best practices of other jurisdictions, New York can lead the way by establishing a licensing structure that prioritizes small businesses, co-operatives, and family-scale farms, not giant corporations focused primarily on profits. In addition, a social equity program that is funded from day one is essential in order to generate economic opportunity by offering priority licenses to communities disproportionately hurt by the drug war.

Direct reinvestment is the final piece of the puzzle. Revenue from marijuana sales ought not to be simply dumped into the state’s general fund. Rather, there must be a significant portion of the tax revenue from marijuana sales specifically set aside to directly lift up the neighborhoods hit hardest by punitive policies and targeted enforcement. The proceeds from a state-regulated marijuana system should be used to ameliorate the legacy of the drug war through job training, youth programs and re-entry services and other community-directed efforts that are responsive to people's needs. It should also finance evidence-based and voluntary drug treatment programs and other harm reduction-based education campaigns designed to reduce dependence and save lives.

Fortunately, there is a ready-made blueprint for the right kind of reform New York needs: the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (S.1527/A.1617), sponsored by state Sen.Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, and Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo. This legislation includes the most critical components needed to deliver targeted results for the most hard-hit communities statewide, which have been ravaged by the marijuana arrest crusade and are now disproportionately hit by COVID-19. By promoting a justice-first approach, this bill is the gold standard and should be the basis for any serious conversations about marijuana reform this budget season.

It has been said many times before, but the state budget is a moral document. It’s a truth that bears repeating. As the Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders begin the budget process in earnest this year with a stronger-than-ever commitment to legalizing marijuana, we can’t afford to get this wrong. With one shot, New York can create a new paradigm for drug reform guided by the greatest moral purpose of all — justice.