Albany, N.Y. - Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that due to a divide in State Assembly and State Senate, his proposal to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, has been killed.
Although the proposal did win the support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York Police Department as well as a couple of top prosecutors, the split between the Democratic controlled State Assembly and Republican controlled Senate lead the bill to a dead-end.
"The difference life experiences and worldviews of lawmakers in the chambers proved too much to overcome in the final days of this legislative session," according to the New York Times.
Republican majority in the State Senate recently said that it would not pass Cuomo's bid to decriminalize possession of marijuana in small quantities. The majority leader, Dean G. Skelos told the New York Times, "Being able to just walk around with 10 joints in each ear, and it only be a violation, I think that's wrong."
The bill has also been endorsed by the Assembly Speaker (a democrat), Sheldon Silver.
The bill proposed to decriminalize the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana, changing its status from a misdemeanor to a violation. Cuomo argument rested on the fact that the current law has caused excessive arrests, which consequentially has had a negative impact on the employment and education chances of young men particularly from the minority (since most arrest have been from the minority community).
The New York Times reports that in 2011, the NYPD has arrested more people for the possession of marijuana in small quantities than for any other defense. The number according to the newspaper exceeds 50,686.
The legislative session come to a close Thursday.
