New York state officials reached an agreement Thursday to legalize the use of recreational marijuana in the state, opening the way for the $4.2 billion underground industry to provide millions in tax revenue and rectify an unequal criminal justice system that targeted Black and minority communities, the New York Times reports.
While the final language of the bill has yet to be worked out, the deal would legalize use and possession of marijuana by adults 21 years old and over, as well as allow the delivery of pot. The bill would also allow permitting for “consumption sites,” clubs where marijuana can be consumed, but where no alcohol is served.
Individuals would be allowed to cultivate up to six plants at their residence, either indoors or outdoors, for personal use without having to apply for a commercial license.
The bill could pass the state legislature within a week, but the commercial sale of marijuana would not be permitted for one year due to the complexity of developing state regulations governing the production and distribution of the plant and its related products.
“A percentage of revenue that is raised will get invested into the communities where the people who suffered mass incarceration come from and still live in many cases,” said Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat who has spearheaded the legalization effort in the lower chamber for years. “For me this is a lot more than about raising revenue: It’s about investing in the lives of the people that have been damaged.”