New York lawmakers failed to agree on how to legalize marijuana, dealing a setback to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s progressive agenda. Advocates said Cuomo and the state’s legislature didn’t appreciate the law’s criminal-justice consequences and didn’t push enough for legalization.
Their failure to advance a bill June 19, the last scheduled day of the legislative session, left the legislature divided over whether to consider a separate compromise that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot, expunge the criminal records of some offenders and allow for expanded medical use. Lawmakers planned to meet behind closed doors June 20, said Alexander Marion, ...