{"id":8227,"date":"2018-04-25T00:09:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T00:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=16875"},"modified":"2018-04-25T00:09:17","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T00:09:17","slug":"nycs-first-lady-opens-up-about-past-pot-use-and-why-shes-now-pro-legalization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/nycs-first-lady-opens-up-about-past-pot-use-and-why-shes-now-pro-legalization\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC\u2019s First Lady Opens Up About Past Pot Use And Why She\u2019s Now Pro-Legalization"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/nycs-first-lady-opens-up-about-past-pot-use-and-why-shes-now-pro-legalization\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>Earlier this month, New York City\u2019s First Lady Chirlane McCray revealed that she supports marijuana legalization because she does not believe individuals should be disciplined or punished for using it, but she warned that \u201cit should be highly regulated\u201d and that individuals see it as a \u201ccash cow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But what exactly pushed her to jump on the pro-legalization bandwagon?<\/p>\n<p>In a telephone interview with Observer on Monday afternoon, McCray\u2014who is considering running for office in 2021\u2014weighed in on how her thinking has evolved on the issue, her thoughts regarding her husband Mayor Bill de Blasio\u2019s hesitation, her concerns about addiction particularly among young people, her own past marijuana use and racial disparities in marijuana enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell first of all, from working with Thrive, it\u2019s made me much more sensitive to issues of addiction and substance misuse, but also the criminalization of marijuana makes it really hard for those who are addicted\u2026 the fact that people get locked up for it, it also makes it more complicated,\u201d McCray told Observer, referring to her $850 million Thrive NYC mental health initiative launched in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>She called for a public health approach, arguing that people need to think of marijuana as another substance that can be used recreationally \u201cand people are fine\u201d but can also be misused\u2014specifically \u201cby our young people whose brains are still developing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat made me get to, \u2018It should be legalized\u2019\u2026 fentanyl and heroine was probably the tipping point for me,\u201d she continued. \u201cRecognizing that the marijuana of today is not the marijuana of the \u201960s. It\u2019s very different. It\u2019s much more potent. People don\u2019t know what\u2019s in it and if it was legalized, at least people would be safer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McCray said her primary concern is from a health perspective and her secondary concern is about who profits from the \u201cnew emerging economic benefits of legalization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She noted that in Washington, where marijuana is legal, marijuana sales are expected to hit $730 million over the next two years\u2014money she says should be going to underserved communities and behavioral health services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to be thoughtful about where we go so that people of color\u2026 are not shut out of those business and economic opportunities, but we must also be cognizant that we do not have a coordinated mental health system in this country, we do not have dedicated funding for behavioral health services and this is an opportunity to direct that money in that direction, especially in communities of color,\u201d McCray added.<\/p>\n<p>McCray\u2019s position is in stark contrast with that of de Blasio, who has expressed support for a study Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that would examine the possible effects of marijuana legalization in nearby states such as New Jersey on New York but remains opposed to marijuana legalization.<\/p>\n<p>The First Lady denied that she and de Blasio disagree.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople said that I disagree with my husband. I don\u2019t actually disagree with him\u2026 We both are really in the same place,\u201d she maintained. \u201cI favor legalization. He\u2019s more cautious, as he should be, because I think we\u2019re not having the right conversation. It has to be much broader than it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Observer noted the fact that McCray has backed legalization while de Blasio has not, she said they share the same concerns but suggested that being an elected official puts him in a different position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he\u2019s an elected official, he has the responsibility of making sure that the conversation is broader, that all of the concern that I just talked about and more are addressed before he comes to a decision on the position,\u201d she contended. \u201cAnd even though I say I am for legalization, I have those concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And despite the fact that she has publicized her support for legalization, she insists she\u2019s not putting pressure on de Blasio to make a decision. When Observer asked if she ever texts or emails links to articles about legalization and its benefits, she said she does not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, no, I do not,\u201d McCray said. \u201cWe have a lot of other things to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In September 2016, then-U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said marijuana is not a \u201cspecific gateway.\u201d And earlier this month, two studies in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal found that medical marijuana can help combat the opioid epidemic by reducing the number of opioid prescriptions.<\/p>\n<p>McCray said she has spoken with licensed and trained experts from around the country who work with individuals who misuse substances and suffer from addiction. One of those experts is Dr. Hillary Kunins, an assistant commissioner at the city\u2019s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), where she heads the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use\u2014Prevention, Care and Treatment.<\/p>\n<p>McCray argued that any drug can be a gateway drug and some people are predisposed to addiction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo to say that because we\u2019re all different, we all have different chemical makeups and dispositions, you can\u2019t make a blanket statement like that,\u201d she warned. \u201cSome people can be very hurt by this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She noted that in New York City, there are more than 40,000 hospital alcohol emergency room visits every year and pointed to the issues of people driving drunk and high school and college students using legal prescription drugs \u201cso freely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McCray also expressed uncertainty that legalization is a solution to the opioid epidemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s possible, but I don\u2019t think that in this case that that would be a reason for legalization,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere\u2019s certainly no one solution to the opioid epidemic, there just isn\u2019t. And any drug can be abused. So I don\u2019t know that marijuana is an answer to the opioid epidemic or even part of an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given her concerns about young people misusing substances, would she be OK with her children, Dante and Chiara, smoking marijuana? McCray expressed a mixed view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell we haven\u2019t discussed it over the dinner table,\u201d McCray admitted. \u201cCertainly as I support legalization, then I wouldn\u2019t be opposed to them smoking, but again it\u2019s not as though I\u2019m promoting it either. I\u2019m not promoting it. I would be very happy if no one under the age of 25 was allowed to smoke pot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, she says she is not opposed to her children smoking marijuana recreationally but would prefer if they did not do so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would be happier if they didn\u2019t,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>McCray herself started smoking marijuana when she was in high school, though not regularly. She told Observer she did not really have access to it until she was older because she \u201cdidn\u2019t have much money.\u201d She smoked when she was in her 20s and \u201cfound it to be habit-forming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had difficulty stopping,\u201d McCray recalled. \u201cI actually went to therapy and that was immensely helpful for me because I didn\u2019t want to be dependent on [a] substance. So you can say I know first hand that marijuana can be habit-forming, addicting, and I know I\u2019m not alone. But no, it did not lead me to using other substances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As to getting other politicians to see past the stigma associated with weed, she said she\u2019s \u201cglad they have that stigma,\u201d arguing that it is better for people to be cautious and that it\u2019s right \u201cto do the studies and to consider all the angles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope it takes a long time,\u201d McCray argued, referring to legalizing marijuana in New York. \u201cI hope it takes time because we have to have a broader conversation, and I don\u2019t hear that conversation yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, roughly 86 percent of people arrested for marijuana possession in the fifth degree\u2014possessing less than two ounces in a public place\u2014were people of color.<\/p>\n<p>McCray said that there were 61,000 total marijuana arrests in de Blasio\u2019s first three years compared to 112,000 such arrests in former Mayor Michael Bloomberg\u2019s first three years. She also said marijuana arrests are down 37 percent across all demographics since 2013, down 40 percent for blacks and Latinos and summonses are up 33 percent.<\/p>\n<p>When Observer asked about the fact that racial disparities persist despite a policy revision in 2014, she acknowledged it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDisparities come with all of our crime, unfortunately,\u201d she admitted. \u201cWe just have to keep getting better. We have to continue making improvements, and we are very focused on it from the statistics I gave you\u2026 We have to do more. We are locked on and committed to making it better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/420-news\/international-cannabis-news\/nycs-first-lady-opens-up-about-past-pot-use-and-why-shes-now-pro-legalization\/\">NYC\u2019s First Lady Opens Up About Past Pot Use And Why She\u2019s Now Pro-Legalization<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this month, New York City\u2019s First Lady Chirlane McCray revealed that she supports marijuana legalization because she does not&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/420-news\/international-cannabis-news\/nycs-first-lady-opens-up-about-past-pot-use-and-why-shes-now-pro-legalization\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/420-news\/international-cannabis-news\/nycs-first-lady-opens-up-about-past-pot-use-and-why-shes-now-pro-legalization\/\">NYC\u2019s First Lady Opens Up About Past Pot Use And Why She\u2019s Now Pro-Legalization<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1616,9,1,3],"tags":[4184],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8227"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}