New York legalizes sale of recreational marijuana

By Teddy Grant Published: March 31, 2021

New York legalizes sale of recreational marijuana

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2013 file photo, farmer Breezy shows off the distinctive leaves of a marijuana plant during a tour of his plantation in Jamaica's central mountain town of Nine Mile. While the island has a regulated medical marijuana industry and decriminalized small amounts of weed in 2015, it is running low on the illegal market, due to heavy heavy rains followed by extended drought, an increase in consumption and a drop in the number of traditional marijuana farmers. (AP Photo/David McFadden, File)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes the sale of recreational marijuana legal in the state for adults 21 and over.

The law will also create a licensing process for the delivery of cannabis products and New Yorkers will be allowed to grow up to three plants for personal use.

The Democrat-led state Senate and Assembly passed the bill on Tuesday, according to HuffPost.

New Yorkers thinking that the sale of recreational weed is imminent may be disappointed. The law will take about two years to go into effect.

According to reports, there will be a 9% sales tax on cannabis and a 4% tax split between county and local governments. The state expects to bring in $350 million a year.

In recent years, marijuana legalization in the state has stalled because Cuomo and state legislators could not work out an agreement.

The governor had previously wanted the bill to pass as part of budget negotiations, BNC previously reported.

State Sen. Liz Krueger, who sponsored the bill and serves as a chair on New York’s senate finance committee, said last week:

“My goal in carrying this legislation has always been to end the racially disparate enforcement of marijuana prohibition that has taken such a toll on communities of color across our state and to use the economic windfall of legalization to help heal and repair those same communities.”