Newsmakers meet New Yorkers as host Brian Lehrer and his guests take on the issues dominating conversation in New York and around the world. This daily program from WNYC Studios cuts through the usual talk radio punditry and brings a smart, humane approach to the day's events and what matters most in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, Death, Sex & Money, Nancy, and many others.
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Is NJ Any Closer to Legalizing Cannabis?
Charles Stile, political columnist at The Record, and Karen Rouse, WNYC New Jersey reporter, talk about the progress — and obstacles — in New Jersey toward legalizing cannabis.
"They came up with this flat tax, or weigh-based tax, of $42 per ounce. The advantage in that is if the price of marijuana drops, the state still collects that flat $42 dollars and provides a stable revenue stream," says @rouse_karen on New Jersey moving to legalize cannabis.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 21, 2019"People feel like marijuana is a much better solution for people who are dealing with pain issue. Where marijuana is legal, opioid use goes down, that’s an argument the advocates have made for legalizing weed," says @rouse_karen.
"Off-ramp drug for opioids," adds @PoliticalStile.
"We started earlier than all these states and now we’re letting the opportunity slide by.... We were going to be ahead of the other states and now the other states could be on the ground before New Jersey," says @PoliticalStile on the urgency of cannabis legalization.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 21, 2019