Weed may not be available everywhere in New York if the state legalizes recreational marijuana.
Gov. Cuomo said Monday that he will give local governments the right to continue the current prohibition on weed sales when, and if, New York legalizes weed.
“We gave local governments the opportunity to opt out — if they want,” Cuomo said on WAMC radio.
But counties that take that option won’t get a share of the tax revenue legal marijuana is expected to produce — $300 million a year by Cuomo’s estimate.
The governor is expected to lay out his marijuana legalization plan when he releases his executive budget on Tuesday.
Cuomo once opposed marijuana as a “gateway” drug, but warmed to the idea of approving pot sales after neighboring Massachusetts did so.
New Jersey is also moving in the same direction.
“I did have trepidations,” Cuomo said on the radio show, but added “we passed that bridge” considering what’s going on in surrounding states.
He said a study by state health officials concluded the “benefits outweigh the risks.”


