In Vermont, the governor just signed a law allowing people to consume marijuana recreationally. The newly inaugurated governor of New Jersey has made it clear that he wants weed legalized.
But in neighboring New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- an outspoken opponent of legalized marijuana -- has, well, appointed a task force to study the issue.
State Senator Gustavo Rivera, however, thinks that what is happening in the other states will inevitably lead New York to liberalize its laws.
"When something is legal in one state and not legal in another, you will have people crossing the border to go and get it," Senator Rivera said in an interview Tuesday on Cheddar's weekly "Cannabiz" show. "You see that with firecrackers; they're legal in many states but illegal in others. So certainly it can have an impact on what happens in one state, when people of that state go to another to acquire it, which is why, yes, there is pressure now."
Governor Cuomo has long argued that marijuana was a "gateway drug" that could lead to the use of other, more dangerous drugs. As recently as a year ago, he said, "I am unconvinced on recreational marijuana." His creation of a task force to study the legalization issues suggests that his views have softened, at least somewhat.
But Senator Rivera, a Democrat who represents portions of the Bronx, says the issue is pretty clear-cut. "Many of us are saying let's make sure that we do the right thing in the state of New York, that we push for recreational marijuana to exist in New York. It would be the right thing to do."
For full segment [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/when-will-new-york-legalize-marijuana).
Federal agents in green camouflage uniforms have been taking into custody people in the streets of Portland, not close to federal property that they were sent to protect.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, but has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court.
SEIU President Mary Kay Henry talked to Cheddar about how the Strike for Black Lives will fight for the causes of racial and economic justice simultaneously.
Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients. Miami area authorities, meanwhile, began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement.
The ruse discovered Wednesday included bogus tweets from Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a number of tech billionaires.
Target and CVS Health have joined the list of the nation’s largest retailers that will require customers to wear masks as cases of COVID-19 spike.
The politicization of school reopenings by Trump has scared off teachers who before were "overwhelmingly" in support of heading back in the fall, Randi Weingarten told Cheddar.
Jamaal Bowman appeared to topple Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term incumbent, for the Democratic nomination in the 16th Congressional district, though Engel is now suing to challenge the validity of mail-in ballots.
Mayor Muriel Bowser weighs in on the Washington Redskins name change after the organization faced opposition from sponsors and advertisers.
The three nations alleged Thursday that hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear and believed to be part of the Russian intelligence service, is attacking academic and pharmaceutical coronavirus research institutions involved in vaccine development.
