Seven states unite on cannabis legalization

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The governors and representatives of the states met yesterday to discuss a united cannabis front

The idea of a unified solution to cannabis reform is catching on, as evidenced by a spectacular meeting that took place yesterday. The governors of four states, along with representatives from three others, got together to discuss creating a unified legal cannabis program for next year. This is just a prelude of what is expected to come across the entire country over the course of the next couple of years.

The governors from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are all in favor of cannabis legalization. They met yesterday in a Regional Cannabis and Vaping Summit with representatives from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Colorado in an effort to create a cannabis solution that could be implemented across all the areas. The summit included five different sections – vaping, market regulation and social justice, public health, public safety and a best practices panel that was led by representatives from Colorado.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who organized the event with Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, said as the summit got underway, “This is a very important topic. It is probably one of the most challenging issues that I know I’ve had to address in the state of New York. It is complicated, it is controversial and it is consequential. That is a very difficult and challenging combination.” He added, “It’s consequential because if you do not do it right, you can do harm, and the whole purpose here is to do good.”

The current solution of having each state create its own cannabis legislation doesn’t make much sense, asserted Lamont. He added, “This makes sense: sitting down, working together, working together with New Jersey, working with Pennsylvania and our other neighbors to make sure that what we do, we do it on a standardized basis, we do it on a well-regulated basis with health and safety paramount. I think we’re much stronger when we work together and that’s what this meeting is all about.”