Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As New York State is on the verge of legalizing recreational marijuana for people over 21, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn says while he has concerns, he's not "freaking out" as much about the legislation.
Flynn says state lawmakers listened to him, to a certain extent, by keeping driving while impaired, a misdemeanor, rather than a violation. They also included cannabis in the drugged-driving statute. A vote by the legislature is expected sometime Tuesday. Governor Andrew Cuomo has indicated he will sign the bill right away.
"There will be no change in driving while impaired. It was a misdemeanor before and will remain a misdemeanor going forward," he said.
Less than two weeks ago, on March 19, Flynn told reporters "I'm freaking out. I don't want to wait for someone to get killed by a driver who's high." His main concern is with public safety.
While the state has added safeguards to the bill, Flynn wants the state to go one step further.
"I'm worried about edibles"(cannabis based food products). "Here's what going to happen. If a police officer pulls someone over for drugged driving, and they smell marijuana, they can obviously tell if there's impairment. The officer has to be able to identify the drug. If it's an edible and there's no smell, but someone's acting loopy, I'm not going to be able to prosecute the case," he said.
Flynn wants the state to expand the definition of drug to any substance that would impair physical or mental abilities.
Another concern the County's top prosecutor has is with public consumption. "There's a gap in the bill that needs to be tightened up. There's nothing in the legislation that addresses smoking on a public street or a public park," said Flynn.
"I don't see anything in the 130 page bill that says you can't smoke in a public space." Flynn said he can't find anything that addresses that.
