New York State Legalization of Marijuana – Public Health Implications for Minority Communities
- Jan 25, 2024
- 2 min read
On March 31, 2021, Governo Cuomo passed the law-making cannabis legal in New York State. The House voted to strike marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances, charge an 8 % marijuana tax, expungement of pot convictions for previously incarcerated individuals and promised loans for start-up marijuana businesses. This legalization seen as a social equity measure would provide some degree of compensation for those individuals, (primarily minorities who were targeted by the war on drugs). The theory is that people who suffered from incarceration as a result of marijuana past criminalization would benefit from legalization.
The roll out of this program has not gone as planned. As of December 2022, there were only 23 legal recreational dispensaries in New York State and about 3,000 illegal shops. The delay in granting licenses by the state to qualified individuals was due by two lawsuits, one by veterans. A judge ruled that that the state Office of Cannabis Management erred when it prioritized those with criminal records over other traditionally disenfranchised groups such as service-disabled veterans and women and minority owned businesses. Currently, the preponderance of illegal pot shops seem to be primarily in minority neighborhoods. Although Governor Hochul and NYC Mayor Adams began a crackdown in June 2023 to institute fines and close these shops, thousands still remain open. According to a Daily News article, the risk of concentration of pot shops licensed or unlicensed in disadvantaged neighborhoods could be more of a problem. They cite how the overconcentration of liquor licenses and cheap alcoholic beverages has long been recognized as a problem for low-income minority neighborhoods. The National Institute of Health has found that living in an African American neighborhood was related to increased spirits/liquor consumption and in turn more negative drinking consequences. A Rand study says that the density of recreational marijuana retailers is associated with more use and a higher intensity of use among young adults. Although some people can utilize marijuana with no ill effects, a new Massachusetts General Hospital study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that some people may develop a “chronic use disorder”. A previous study also found a similar risk of chronic abuse for recreational marijuana. Also, several weed shops have been targeted for robberies and may be a magnet for crime. The high price of real estate in New York City is also making it difficult for underserved groups that were the original intended beneficiaries of this program to even lease out a space to start the business. Many of the illegal weed shop are currently operated by those who were not affected by the weed incarceration laws but have the money and capital to rent our spaces in various minority communities. Start-up loans promised by the state have been slow in coming and still tied up in bureaucratic delays.
Legalization may hold some promise, but the public have to stay alert for possible negative unintended public health consequences to underserved minority communities.
Please see the following articles for future references:Unlicensed Pot Shops still selling weed after NYPD Shutdown/ The City – NYC News
Poor Neighborhoods don’t need pot shops - New York Daily News
