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).
The Supreme Court is siding with the Trump administration in its effort to allow more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women as required by the Affordable Care Act.
The schools filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the Trump administration’s decision to bar international students from staying in the U.S. if they take classes online this fall.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that oversees student visas, just released new guidelines for international students, which say that if an international student is enrolled in a program that decides to go fully virtual, they must leave the county.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched an all-out effort to reopen schools this fall.
Camden, NJ has garnered national headlines after the city replaced its police department with a community based policing program. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo gets an inside look at this alternate type of policing.
The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, although the pullout won’t take effect until next year.
TikTok says it will stop operations in Hong Kong after the city enacted a sweeping national security law last week.
The government on Monday identified roughly 650,000 mostly small businesses and nonprofits that received taxpayer money from a program that likely helped prevent the job market meltdown from growing worse but that also benefited some politically connected firms.
A white woman walking her dog who called the police during a videotaped dispute with a Black man in Central Park was charged Monday with filing a false report.
Stacy Abrams, author and founder of 'Fair Fight,' talks the need to expand vote-by-mail options for Americans as the concerns of voter suppression rise.
