Legislators at the Sullivan County Government Center have had a couple of lively conversations about the pros and cons of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in New York State. Under the legislation that is currently being considered, counties and municipalities with populations of more than 100,000 may choose not to allow recreational marijuana use, but, with a population of about 75,000, Sullivan County does not fall into that category. Still, local lawmakers could dictate policies regarding where and when marijuana products may be sold, so, ultimately, it may become more than an academic matter for county legislators.

Sullivan legislator Alan Sorensen would like the state to conduct an environmental impact assessment to create a statement regarding legalization, as prescribed by the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process. The same was done with the question of whether hydraulic fracturing should be legal in the state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo would like the state legislature to pass legalization legislation as part of the budget process and be finished with it by the end of March. Speaker of the Assembly Carl Heastie, however, has said the issue is complicated, and it may need to be handled outside of the budget process, so it’s not clear how soon legal pot in New York may become a reality. And while the government has not performed a full environmental review of legalization, the NYS Department of Health (DOH), at the governor’s request, did perform an assessment of the likely impacts of legalization (www.bit.ly/DOHimpactsTRR).

The assessment says, “From the late 1800s until the 1930s, marijuana was generally considered a benign, medically efficacious substance that was sold in pharmacies and doctors’ offices throughout the United States to treat various ailments. During the ‘reefer madness’ era of the 1930s, there was a concerted effort to convince the country that marijuana posed such a danger to society, only prohibition could save it, and the risks continued to be exaggerated for many years through propaganda.”

The assessment also says that, in recent years, a growing body of evidence has shown that marijuana is helpful in treating numerous medical ailments. The (DOH) report also notes that marijuana has helped some people overcome opioid addiction. “States with medical marijuana programs have been found to have lower rates of opioid overdose deaths than other states,” it says.

One of the most harmful impacts of prohibition is that minority communities are disproportionally affected by the enforcement of the laws against marijuana. Even though possession of marijuana was decriminalized in 1976, possession in public view remains a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $100.

“Over the past 20 years, there have been more than 800,000 arrests for marijuana possession, and the increasing emphasis on minor marijuana arrests has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color. The over-prosecution of marijuana has had significant negative economic, health and safety impacts that have disproportionately affected low-income communities of color, and a regulated program in NYS should address collateral consequences of prior criminal convictions for marijuana possession, such as barriers to housing and education,” says the DOH report.

Cuomo’s proposed legislation would seal any marijuana-related convictions. The state would save a lot of money if there were no more arrests for possession of marijuana.

To be sure, not everything about legalization would be positive. The use of marijuana has been linked to low birth weight in newborns. Smoking marijuana can cause damage to lungs. Also, there are valid concerns about people driving under the influence of marijuana. But the DOH report says that all of these concerns can be mitigated.

The DOH report concludes, “The positive effects of a regulated marijuana market in NYS outweigh the potential negative impacts. Areas that may be a cause for concern can be mitigated with regulation and proper use of public education that is tailored to address key populations. Incorporating proper metrics and indicators will ensure rigorous and ongoing evaluation. Numerous NYS agencies and subject matter experts in the fields of public health, mental health, substance use, public safety, transportation and economics worked in developing this assessment. No insurmountable obstacles to regulation of marijuana were raised. Harm reduction principles can and should be incorporated into a regulated marijuana program to help ensure consumer and industry safety.”