The governor of New York state has announced that he will push for the legalisation of recreational marijuana next year.
Andrew Cuomo said that it was time to “legalise cannabis once and for all” in a move that could bring in $1.3 billion a year in taxes.
The announcement means that New York City residents and tourists in the Big Apple could be able to buy cannabis legally by the end of next year. New York would become the second largest state after California and the 11th in the US to legalise cannabis for recreational use. Currently cannabis is legal for medical purposes in New York state.
Speaking at the New York City Bar Association, Mr Cuomo laid out his agenda for 2019 and said he wanted to legitimise what he called “adult marijuana” and “address the forms of injustice which have for too long targeted the African-American and minority communities”.
To cheers, Mr Cuomo said: “The fact is we have had two criminal justice systems: one for the wealthy and the well-off, and one for everyone else, and that’s going to end.
“What must also end the needless and unjust criminal convictions and the debilitating criminal stigma and let’s legalise the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all.”
The announcement is a turnaround for Mr Cuomo, who last year said that marijuana was a “gateway drug”.
But faced with a $40 billion bill for fixing New York City’s crippled transport system, the governor has had to rethink, claiming in recent months that the “facts have changed”.
Mr Cuomo’s hand was also forced by Cynthia Nixon, the former Sex And The City star who ran against him for the governorship this year and chose legalising cannabis as one of her policies. Mr Cuomo, who is on his third term as governor, set up a commission which concluded that the benefits of legalisation outweighed the drawbacks. It also found the move could bring in up to $677 million in tax in the first year alone.
