The answer? Pot.
Gov. Andrew
SonnyCuomo
says legalizing marijuana could be key to offsetting the massive budget deficit and helping the COVID-19 torn state recover."There are a lot of reasons to get it done, but one of the benefits is it also brings in revenue, and all states — but especially this state — we need revenue and we’re going to be searching the cupboards for revenue," Cuomo told the Staten Island Advance.
"And I think that is going to put marijuana over the top," he added.
The governor said he will "soon" legalize marijuana during a virtual event to promote his new book "American Crisis" about the state’s response to the pandemic.
"A top Cuomo adviser said he’d like to put the legalization plan in action by early 2021, according to marijuanamoment.net," the Advance wrote. "We’re working on this. We’re going to reintroduce this in our budget in January," he said, according to the report. "We think we can get it done by April 1."
The move will require approval by the state legislature, which has twice rejected such a bill as politicians argued over who gets the money and whether counties could opt out of the plan.
Last year, Cuomo signed a bill to reduce the criminal punishment for unlawful possession of marijuana and strip penalties for those found with less than two ounces of marijuana. The bill also began the process for expunging residents’ records for past convictions for possessing small amounts of the drug.