July 14 -- Mariana Stout kicks off the Summer Sundays with a discussion on the ethics and politics of recent efforts to legalize marijuana.
During the 2019 NY legislative session, a bill to legalize recreational marijuana was discussed. The Democrat who sponsored the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, state Sen. Liz Krueger, said “Through months of negotiation and conversation with the Governor’s office and my legislative colleagues, we made great strides to improve our bill and bring more people on board. We came very close to crossing the finish line, but we ran out of time.”
Marijuana usage is already very common in New York. In the year 2017 alone, an estimated 2.1 to 2.44 million New Yorkers aged 18 and up admitted on a government survey to using marijuana, roughly 15% of the state population. More than half of these people had used it in the past month.
We will discuss the history, pros and cons and watch a short video with a surprising point not usually elaborated. For fun, we will take a poll before and after our discussion to see where we stand.
About the speaker:
Marianna Stout, retired Systems Designer, Database Manager and Director of Project Management Office, is a proponent of good government and citizen participation through years of work on the local, county and state board of the League of Women Voters, and currently a political activist as leader of CD17 Indivisible and organizer for MoveOn.org.
Articles for further reading:
Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana in the U.S.