Cynthia Nixon is pushing to make recreational marijuana legal in New York State.
Nixon argues that there’s a double standard when it comes to prosecuting people for pot.
“We have to stop putting people of color in jail for something that white people do with impunity,” Nixon said in an online video.
Nixon is running for governor of New York, challenging Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.
She said that 80 percent of New Yorkers who are arrested for marijuana are black or Latino. Nixon said that’s even though whites and minorities use marijuana at roughly the same rate. She argued that marijuana is “effectively legal” for white people and said it’s time to set the same standard for everyone.
“The consequences follow people for the rest of their lives, making it harder for them to get jobs, or housing, and for non-citizens, putting them directly in the crosshairs for deportation,” Nixon said.
She said by legalizing marijuana, it would help end “the racist war on drugs.” Nixon said by taxing and regulating marijuana, it would generate hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for the state.
“In 2018, in a blue state like New York, marijuana shouldn’t even be an issue. If there was more political courage coming out of Albany, we would’ve done this a long time ago,” Nixon said.
Governor Cuomo said he’s studying the issue.
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