Under the leadership of a succession of tepid governors hamstrung by their own ambitions for higher office, New York has lost the courageousness that once marked our politics. A fragile caucus in the State Senate and moneyed interests on State Street seem to prefer it this way — averse to the risks and thrills of the uncertainty and dynamism that gave us the Erie Canal, the State University of New York, the Niagara Power Project and the New York Thruway.

New York’s subways, state parks and public schools were once the envy of the world. But today our roads crumble, our bridges are “functionally obsolete” and our trains can barely run on time. Much of our manufacturing industry has collapsed, our middle class was been priced out and our upstate New York cities have been brutalized by elitist economic policies that have destroyed them with the crushing burdens of an ever-growing government that we cannot afford.

It’s time to reignite the New York we once knew — not with a bigger government, or more corporate welfare under the elusive guise of “economic development” — but with more liberty, more entrepreneurship and more justice for New Yorkers.

It is in that spirit that I propose ending New York’s devastating prohibition on marijuana — a prohibition that unjustly targets and criminalizes communities of color, in a perverse manifestation of institutional racism.

Instead, we should be cultivating good paying jobs and economic opportunities that benefit us all.

 Upon its enactment, the Marijuana Infrastructure Program (MIP), will bring to New York a tightly regulated and carefully crafted system that allows for the adult use of marijuana for New Yorkers over the age of 21 years old — a responsible model for the rest of the country.

A statewide cannabis excise tax of 13 percent, along with the 7 percent state and local sales tax, would generate $500 million annually. That new revenue will fund state bonding for badly needed investments in our roads, bridges and subway — allowing for $12.2 billion in the next generation of infrastructure improvements over five years.

These infrastructure improvements are estimated to create more than 244,000 jobs over a seven-year period — putting 35,000 New Yorkers to work for seven years — in construction, among suppliers, and indirectly as a result of the spending’s multiplier effect on local economies.

A fully mature adult use cannabis industry would range between $3 billion and $4 billion in sales annually, with an economic impact between $8 billion and $10 billion annually (including multiplier effects). On a permanent basis, this new industry will employ 20,000 to 25,000 people, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 jobs created indirectly or induced. The initial build out of the industry — including growing, processing, distribution and retail venues — is projected to create 5,000 additional jobs in construction.

Upon the enactment of this regulation, I will ensure — if need be, by the power of the pardon — that all non-violent marijuana convictions are expunged and all individuals currently incarcerated for non-violent marijuana crimes are released as immediately as is practicable.

I’m Joel Giambra, and I’m running for governor to reform New York.

Joel Giambra

New York state gubernatorial candidate

Published on March 17, 2018 at 8:47 pm