New York City holding public meetings on legalizing marijuana
ALBANY, New York -- New York state is hosting three public listening sessions this week in New York City to gather input on proposals to legalize recreational marijuana.
The meetings are scheduled for Monday in Queens, Tuesday in Brooklyn and Wednesday on Staten Island.
CLICK HERE for more details about the listening sessions.
Several listening sessions have already been held upstate, and more are planned throughout the state. On Friday, two more in Westchester and Suffolk counties were added to the calendar for October.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers are expected to take up proposals to legalize and regulate marijuana next year. State officials say the listening sessions will help guide them as they work out the details of the legislation.
A new NYPD marijuana policy also went into effect recently to cut down on drug arrests in New York City.
Police now issue summonses for most marijuana offenses instead of making arrests.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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