Following the Money: Is Cuomo Softening His Stance on Marijuana?
*By Amanda Weston*
A report released this week claiming that New York gubernatorial incumbent Andrew Cuomo accepted more donations from the cannabis industry than his re-election campaign disclosed has raised some eyebrows about the Democrat's views on marijuana.
"Cuomo's not coming out in full force of endorsing legalization," said Alyson Martin, co-founder of CannabisWire, the publication that released the report. "But he is accepting money from the cannabis industry and from big players in the cannabis industry."
Cuomo has been [notoriously inconsistent](https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2018/05/25/andrew-cuomo-marijuana-timeline/632312002/) about his position on pot. He once called it a "gateway drug," but has also said that medicinal marijuana may be [acceptable](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/nyregion/marijuana-new-york-cuomo-legalization.html) in some cases.
But CannabisWire will continue to follow Cuomo's money, Martin said.
"Part of the reason that CannabisWire is looking into the flow of money from the Cannabis industry to political candidates is because, as we all know, elected officials may say one thing but the money tells another story."
[The site reported](https://cannabiswire.com/2018/08/29/cannabis-in-the-ny-governors-race-big-donations-and-a-big-debate/) that Cuomo accepted about $150,000 from large cannabis companies. CannabisWire found a $50,000 donation linked to a non-profit Christian mission actually came from MedMen, a cannabis company, meaning the sum wasn't properly attributed to its real source in Cuomo's disclosure. The company later claimed the incorrect listing was a clerical error.
Whether the news will actually sway Cuomo's chances against political newcomer Cynthia Nixon, though, is unclear.
The actress and activist has been a strong advocate of legalizing marijuana. She, like many other liberals, considers it a racial justice issue, since [more people of color](https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2018/02/13/racial-disparities-continue-in-new-york-city-marijuana-arrests-248896) are arrested for marijuana offenses than Caucasians.
Cuomo admitted during the televised gubernatorial debate on Wednesday that he believes the benefits of legalization outweigh the risks but was not as forceful as Nixon.
But Martin thinks his donors are hoping he'll eventually become a proponent for cannabis legalization .
"I certainly think that it's a strong shove in that direction," Martin said. "These are not the mom-and-pop companies that are supporting candidates. These are bigger companies."
Cuomo's campaign did not respond to CannabisWire's request for comment. Martin doesn't think the Governor has violated campaign finance laws, but her outlet is continuing its investigation.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/cannabis-disclosures-play-into-new-york-governor-race).
Zachary Petrizzo, media reporter at The Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss former President Trump's endorsement of Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, and why some parts of the MAGA base are unhappy about it.
Larry Sharpe, libertarian candidate for New York governor, joins Cheddar Politics to talk about the issues motivating his campaign. The discusses his endorsement from the progressive Forward party founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and changes that can be made to voting systems.
Cheddar Politics breaks down the seismic shift in White House rhetoric surrounding Russia's war on Ukraine. President Biden began calling the alleged war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in the Kyiv region "genocide." Foreign policy and national security analyst A. Ari Aramesh joins Cheddar News to discuss what constitutes genocide and whether the developments in Ukraine qualify.
President Joe Biden said he is considering forgiving some federal student debt, a step that would help him fulfill a campaign promise and provide relief to borrowers who took out thousands of dollars in loans to finance their higher education.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 28, 2022, with Elon Musk mocking Twitter's top legal exec Vijaya Gadde on the platform itself, a probe in George Floyd's death finding discrimination within the Minneapolis police force, the latest California drought leading to new water restrictions, and more.
Tech giant Microsoft won a military contract for the production of its IVAS (integrated visual augmentation system) combat goggles, based on its HoloLens ARG tech, worth up to $21.9 billion over 10 years. However, the Pentagon is now saying that the device "has not yet demonstrated the capability to serve as a fighting goggle," and that the Army made mistakes in the program's initial stages by not clearly describing minimum performance standards. While testing continues, concerns have grown outside of the Defense Department to Congress and even within Microsoft itself. Cheddar's Ken Buffa takes a deeper look at the possible boondoggle.
U.S. stocks fell sharply to close Tuesday's session, with the Nasdaq dropping 3.95% and hitting a new one-year low. Frances Newton Stacy, Director of Strategy for Optimal Capital, joins Cheddar News to discuss her reaction to how markets closed the session, and to break down Q3 2022 earnings from Microsoft. "Netflix was sort of the big warning, and I think Big Tech was down today in anticipation of these earnings," she says.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bill that strips Disney World of its special self-governing status. This came after Disney spoke out against Florida's so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, some saying in retaliation of that. Ben Means, Professor of Law and the John T. Campbell Chair in Business and Professional Ethics at the University of South Carolina School of Law, breaks down how the new law might impact Disney’s business moving forward.
