On Thursday March 25, New York State Lawmakers reached a deal to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. New York is now the 15 state to legalize recreational use of the drug, according to CNBC. Legalization of the plant is effective immediately, however recreational sales of the drug is not expected to appear for another year.

The legalization of recreational use of cannabis is aimed towards ending “racially disproportionate policing” as reported by The New York Times. This goal is also shared by students at St. Lawrence University. Madison Robb, class of 2022, emphasized that this is a step in the right direction. “Hopefully more states continue to follow the trend of legalizing marijuana,” Robb stated. “I think what is more important is overturning old weed charges that have landed people in prison and ruined their lives and reputations.”

The money collected from tax revenue of cannabis sales will be invested in minority communities, and a portion of business licenses will be reserved for minority business owners according to The New York Times.

Additionally, the state of New York is expected to generate around 350 million dollars once the program is fully implemented, The New York Times reported. Robb believes that this will also increase tourism in the state. “This will increase foot traffic from neighboring states that have not yet legalized the drug.”

The program itself includes the allowance to deliver the drug and to also create lunges to consume the drug. However, these lounges will not allow for the consumption of alcohol as well as marijuana. Additionally, according to The New York Times, New York residents could grow up to six marijuana plants at home for personal use. “New York residents will benefit as they now can smoke legally and not have to worry about facing harsh punishments for something that could have been legalized for a while now.”

In terms of college campuses it is unclear how policy will change on the campus of St. Lawrence. As of now students are not technically allowed to smoke on campus. “No one really follows that rule. The school hasn’t changed any of their rules yet but hopefully they change rules for the upcoming year to reflect the rest of the state,” stated Robb. 

However, Robb believes that this will not affect college campuses since students disregard rules of smoking marijuana regardless. In Canton, it is unclear how soon students will see smoke lounges. “It would be sick if Canton started opening smoke lounges but I doubt it will happen, sounds more of a city thing.” 

Regardless, Robb believes that there are high hopes for the future of weed in New York.