THE SMELL OF MONEY BEATS THE SMELL OF POT

‘Bring the joints!’ Eric Adams hails Hochul push on legal weed in New York 

 

By Elizabeth Rosner, Julia Marsh and Bruce Golding

 

New York Post

September 1, 2021

 

 

 

 

Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams on Wednesday welcomed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s efforts to fast-track the growth and sale of recreational marijuana across New York — saying, “Bring the joints!”

During a news conference in Brooklyn, Adams said he was “happy to hear” that Hochul had picked nominees to head the Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board under terms of the legal weed law enacted earlier this year.

 

Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams (right) speaks at a news conference in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on September 1, 2021

                                                                Gov. Kathy Hochul

 

But Adams, an ex-NYPD captain and avowed non-smoker, also sounded a bummer note of caution about all New Yorkers being able to get baked without fear of arrest.

“You know, it’s time. Let’s get this done,” he said.

“But let’s be smart in the process. We should not send a signal out to students, people who operate heavy devices or people who are doing and making decisions that are life-threatening or life-saving — we should not state it’s OK to smoke cannabis.”

Adams, the outgoing Brooklyn borough president, said during a primary debate last year that he doesn’t smoke pot and his office called Adams’ “Bring the joints!” remark a “colloquial way” of saying he wanted to see the regulatory system for recreational marijuana finalized.

Legal weed is expected to generate as much as $350 million a year in new state revenue.

Adams also reiterated his support for rolling back elements of the state’s bail-reform law, saying, “We need to make sure that the policy isn’t getting in the way of public safety.”

“If we don’t do that, we can create the crime wave that we’re witnessing,” he said.