A bill that would have Suffolk County opt out of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana is set for a public hearing before the county legislature Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Riverhead.
Legislation currently under consideration in Albany would make it legal for people 21 years of age or older to possess, use, buy or transport up to two pounds of marijuana and four and one-half ounces of concentrated cannabis and possess, plant, cultivate, dry and process up to six living marijuana plants. The bills would remove marijuana as a schedule one hallucinogen on the schedules of controlled substances.
The state would license and tax the production and retail sale of marijuana. According to a report issued last summer by the state health department, legalization could bring in between $248 million and $677 million in new tax revenue in its first year.
Unlicensed sale of marijuana would be a criminal offense — from a violation to a felony, depending on the amount sold.
Cuomo’s proposal would allow counties and cities with populations of more than 100,000 to opt out.
Suffolk Legislator Rob Trotta, a retired Suffolk County Police detective, introduced a bill last month would prohibit the sale or distribution of marijuana or marijuana products “in a retail setting” in Suffolk. It would not apply to medical marijuana.
Trotta’s bill declares marijuana a “gateway drug that serves as an introduction to drug culture and can lead to the use and abuse of other substances.”
Violations of the Suffolk ban would be an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail.
The bill is also on the county legislature’s health committee agenda today at 2 p.m. The committee is not expected to act on the measure pending Tuesday’s public hearing, but will take public comments on the bill.
Tuesday’s public hearing and today’s committee meeting will both take place at the Evans K. Griffing County Center at 300 Center Drive in Riverhead.
County legislators on Monday evening held a public hearing in Hauppauge to take comment on the state’s proposal to legalize recreational marijuana. The hearing drew dozens of speakers both for and against legalization. The legislature live-streamed the hearing on Facebook.
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