New York City has been making slow and steady progress since the last election cycle, towards legalizing marijuana. Governor Andrew Cuomo, pulled to the left by public opinion and left-leaning candidates like Cynthia Nixon, has publicly said it will be legal. Mayor Bill de Blasio has ordered the NYPD to stop arresting (mostly people of color) for marijuana possession, and instead hand out ticketed fines. This week, the NYC Council voted to disallow employers to test their workers for marijuana use.
The New York Times reports that if this decision were to become law it would put New York in “uncharted territory,” citing policy experts who could not point to similar legislation. That being said, the law itself does not ban all drug testing. Employers would be able to test employees who seemed to be working under the influence of marijuana. It also allows drug testing for “safety sensitive” jobs like law enforcement, construction, and childcare.
Governor Cuomo’s proposed legalization has run into heavy criticism from lawmakers of color, who want assurances that the process of legalizing marijuana doesn’t become yet another example of racial economic disparity—with big businesses being able to push out smaller businesses run by people of color, and communities of color reaping considerably less of the economic benefits coming from tax revenues.
Opponents cited the need to test to make sure job applicants were up to par, while other opponents spoke mostly about the government creating regulations, and businesses don’t like being regulated. Proponents of this new move say that while the exceptions definitely dampen its impact, many people will be directly helped by it, and any moves to untie some of the taboos around the drug culturally and economically, are positive steps forward.