Eric Adams’ idea would be a convenient way of solving the issue of growing marijuana in a crowded city.
New York Mayor Eric Adams wants to use public housing rooftops as cannabis greenhouses. Despite the innovative idea that could provide some solutions for the city’s nascent cannabis industry, current federal laws make it unlikely for this to happen.
According to Gothamist, Adams made the comments at the New York State Association Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislators 51st Annual Legislative Conference on April 9.
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“We want to examine the possibilities of having a greenhouse space on (New York City Housing Authority) rooftops to grow cannabis,” said Adams. “The jobs can come from NYCHA residents. The proceeds and education can go right into employing people right in the area.”
Gothamist reports that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the authorities responsible for these types of permits and authorizations, said that they hadn’t been approached by the Mayor’s office. “HUD has not been approached on this issue,” they wrote in an email. “There isn’t much more to say, marijuana is illegal in public housing.”
Adams’ idea would be a convenient way of solving the issue of growing marijuana in a crowded city, where there’s not a lot of room to spare. According to the Mayor’s office, their priority is to make the people that were targeted by the War on Drugs the first to benefit from the cannabis industry.
“(Federal) laws still on the books continue to harm the same communities that have been targeted for decades,” said Adams. “The House passed legislation to this effect earlier this month, and we need those who are obstructing progress at the federal level to follow New York’s lead.”
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At the start of the month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana, something that would make the drug easier to handle on a state and federal level. The bill’s approval could result in marijuana becoming easier to investigate and in its removal of it from the country’s list of controlled substances. In order for this to occur, the bill would have to be approved by the Senate, which remains unlikely.
