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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Tuesday that he plans to meet with the governors of Connecticut and New Jersey to discuss ways to create consistency within each state’s respective marijuana programs as they move forward with plans to legalize.

“I want to talk to Connecticut, and then I want to talk to Jersey, about having a regional symmetry on vaping products and marijuana,” he said during an interview on Long Island News Radio. “For one state to do it, it makes no sense if the neighboring state has a totally different policy, because you then just incentivize people to drive over the border and buy it there.”

He also expressed concerns that if people were to travel across state borders to purchase cannabis, they might consume while driving, too.

“We are serious in this state about legalizing recreational use of marijuana, but it has to be done right and protected and I want to start with Connecticut and see if there’s not an openness to come up with common parameters on a policy. Otherwise, it’s counterproductive, as I said before, people drive across the border, they buy a better product, or they buy a cheaper product, or they buy marijuana with more THC, or they buy marijuana that comes in a different form, and now you have people driving and possibly smoking marijuana at the same time.”

The interview also touched on vaping and the need to implement regulations to prevent youth consumption. Cuomo drew a parallel to rules for marijuana, suggesting that cannabis gummy bears could be banned like flavored cigarettes to avoid appealing to young people.

Listen to Cuomo’s marijuana remarks below:

That’s the second major restriction the governor has recently floated. Last week, he hinted that his administration might consider pushing for a ban on smoking marijuana when the state legalizes—a policy he backed for New York’s medical cannabis program in legislation enacted in 2014.

As Cuomo said, however, if neighboring states implement legal marijuana programs that don’t include such bans, that raises the possibility that New Yorkers will travel outside the state to get products, so it will likely be a point of conversation when he meets with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) on Wednesday and then New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) later.

Lamont and Cuomo met for a fishing trip last month, during which they discussed cannabis legalization plans, making Cuomo’s closing nautical metaphor in the new radio interview especially apt.

“If we don’t do it and we don’t make progress, no one else is going to help us because we’re on our own, which is a little frightening but it’s a little liberating,” Cuomo said. “We’re in a boat, we’re in the middle of the ocean, the engine doesn’t work and we’re on our own so we need to start swimming.”

While plans to get cannabis legalized in New York stalled earlier this year when negotiations didn’t produce a passable bill, Cuomo has emphasized that legalization will remain an administrative priority.

He signed legislation in July expanding the state’s decriminalization law and creating a pathway for expungements for individuals with prior cannabis convictions.

21 State Attorneys General Urge Congress Protect State Marijuana Programs From Federal Interference

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The post New York, Connecticut And New Jersey Governors Will Meet To Discuss Marijuana Legalization appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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Kyle Jaeger, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife