Here Are the Two Major Issues Holding Up Legal Weed In New York

It looks like legal recreational weed will be legal for adults very soon in New York. However, there are two big hurdles that need to be cleared before that can happen.

One of the biggest issues is with police and how they determine how high someone is and if they are "under the legal limit" for marijuana in their system. It's harder for police to make arrests without trained drug recognition experts to spot those who are impaired. Some versions of marijuana breathalyzer technology are still being tested, but as of right now they aren't as easy or accurate as the alcohol breathalyzer tests police have now.

I have a friend of mine that is a State Trooper and he told me years ago that the inability to put a number scale on "how high" someone is after using marijuana is one of the biggest roadblocks to legal weed all over the United States.

Get our free mobile app

The second roadblock is uniquely a New York issue. It's a battle over something called "The Scaffold Law" and it affects the construction industry.

The Scaffold Law in New York states that "if a worker is high on the job and injures themselves, the contractor or owner are held to absolute liability. That means they would be 100% liable for that injury. New York is the only state that imposes an absolute liability penalty." according to the Albany Business Review.

This could mean that contractors and employers would be open to lawsuits and huge payouts if an employee was injured on the job while they were impaired. I know it seems like a crazy law....but you know...New York...so....

I have a feeling that it will talk a little more negotiation and a little more adjusting to current laws and the bill to legalize recreational marijuana will pass soon. Most experts agree that it's not if it will pass, it's just a matter of when.