Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivers his 2021 executive state budget proposal on Tuesday.
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo used his state budget address Tuesday to continue to push for legalized marijuana.
“Legalize adult-use cannabis,” Cuomo said in his Albany speech. “I believe the budget is the opportunity, frankly, to make some tough decisions and work through tough issues that without the budget can often languish, and I suggest that we get it done in the budget.”
The measure died in the state Senate last year, after Long Island and Hudson Valley Democrats cried foul, citing health concerns including driving while high and questioning how tax dollars from sales would be spent.
Results from a Siena College poll released Tuesday showed that New Yorkers on the whole are stoked about the measure, by a 58 to 38 percent margin.
Proponent state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) told The Post, “We … want to make sure that we don’t overprice or overtax recreational marijuana because if we do, the illegal market will continue strong and we will fail the assignment.
“The right answer is to keep your prices low enough so you are not undercut by the illegal black market.”
“When it comes to marijuana, if it is gonna be legal in the state, first and foremost the place that needs to be addressed [are] the communities that suffered the most [from] the criminalization of marijuana,” he told reporters.Others pols such as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie want to make sure minority communities that have been negatively impacted by drug arrests get a fair shake.
“You don’t just want to have an economic plan, you also have to have a social plan,” he added.
New York’s Division of Budget projects $83 million in tax revenue will be gained by 2022 — but further details have yet to be announced.
Cuomo also said he wants the state university system of New York to set up a cannabis and hemp research center and work with neighboring states “to coordinate a safe and fair system.”
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