Republicans in the state legislature are calling for a ban on smoking and consuming cannabis in public places in New York as the legal market takes hold.
The measure, supported by state Sen. George Borrello and Rep. Michael Novakhov, would allow local governments to enact local laws to ban the public consumption of marijuana.
“Residents of the state, including children, are now regularly assaulted with the pungent smell of marijuana on public sidewalks, parking lots and other public spaces,” Borrello said. “Many New Yorkers do not want to be exposed to the effects of marijuana. smoke or its smell and do not want their children to be subjected to it.”
New York legalized cannabis for the first time in 2021, although the legal retail market has been slow to build. Legislators who supported legalization have framed it around the need to roll back enforcement of previously tough marijuana laws that were in place previously.
State lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year decided to address unlicensed cannabis sales through civil fines and possible business closures.
Regulators are also trying to encourage more legal sales of cannabis, including allow sale at public events.
Republicans want fines of up to $125 for using marijuana in a public space. The Clean Air Act, as well as local smoking bans, already place limits on the use of marijuana in public.
But Borrello, a Republican from Western New York, believes the use of marijuana in public spaces goes beyond the tobacco comparison.
“There’s a world of difference between tobacco use and marijuana use, so it’s inappropriate to apply the same public use rules,” he said. “Marijuana contains THC, a powerful psychoactive drug that causes a ‘high’ and can result in cognitive and motor impairment, similar to alcohol. People in this condition, on sidewalks or other public places, represent a danger potential for themselves or for others. This is why marijuana should be subject to the same public consumption restrictions that are applied to alcohol.”
