Governor Cuomo and NYC Mayor de Blasio Proposal to Use Marijuana Revenues to Fund Transportation is Misguided

“The proposal being put forth by Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio cannot be taken seriously. State after state that legalized marijuana promised they would be awash in tax dollars — and they have all been sorely disappointed.

“In Colorado, they said legalization would bring in $118 million in its first year, only $67 million every showed up. And now, marijuana revenue accounts for only 0.78 percent of the overall budget. In California, voters were sold the line that the state would bring in upwards of $1 billion in revenue. In reality, the state failed to bring in anywhere near that amount and is now struggling to reign in the black market that is routinely undercutting legal sales.

“To make this proposal even more absurd, a recent report out of Colorado found that for every one dollar in revenue, pot costs taxpayers $4.50 in spending on law enforcement, social services, treatment programs, and health care.

“The idea of funding fixes to the state’s transportation system by commercializing marijuana is ironic given the fact that pot legalization leads to increases in car crashes and other collateral damage. With the MTA looking at a price tag of over $40 billion to fix its problems, the idea that marijuana legalization could be a solution is ridiculous.”

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