Progressive Mayor Bill de Blasio is finally joining the pot party.
Hizzoner, who for years expressed reservations about the legalization of marijuana, is embracing the budding industry with a half-hearted hippie hug — just days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo did the same.
He’s scheduled to announce on Thursday that he supports legalization, at the same time that he pushes for measures that include expunging past convictions for marijuana-related offenses, city officials said.
The mayor’s announcement is timed to coincide with the release of a report he commissioned, which makes other recommendations, such as setting the age minimum at 21.
Hizzoner’s role on the issue is limited, since it’s governed by state law, although he can have a significant impact over enforcement.
City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Donovan Richards (D-Queens) called the mayor’s move a “step in the right direction,” but said correcting for racial and ethnic disparities in enforcement need to take top priority.
“While this is a step in the right direction, NYC must do more to ensure community most impacted by summonses and arrest are given the highest priority in contract and startup opportunities,” he said. “The NYPD and administration must come up with an immediate framework to stop arresting and issuing summonses to communities of color immediately for low-level marijuana offenses.”
In January, de Blasio told WNYC radio he was “skeptical” on the issue of legalization, but added that he was willing to study the matter.
As recently as Dec. 7, the mayor ticked off a litany of issues he felt needed to be addressed ahead of of legalization — including health and safety issues.
On Monday, Cuomo called for legalizing recreational marijuana in New York state, a legislative change he wants to make in Albany in 2019.
Like the mayor, his opinion on the issue has evolved over time.
As recently as February 2017, the governor criticized marijuana as a “gateway drug.”