Tax From Legalized Marijuana Eyed As Solution to NYC Subway Woes

The push to legalize marijuana in New York State could end up benefiting New York City’s ailing subway system.

Officials “have started to discuss the idea of making recreational marijuana legal and using the revenue to pay for badly-needed and expensive subway upgrades,” the New York Times reported Wednesday morning.

A special task force that plans to recommend subway fixes to Governor Andrew Cuomo is currently mulling the possibility.

One of the task force members, state Sen. Michael Gianaris, maintained the MTA needs to “look at all the options on the board to find dedicated revenue to get the subway back on track.”

“We have to do something to get the service back to where it needs to be,” Gianaris told News 4. “What we know is the MTA needs a dramatic infusion of cash.”

At a breakfast Wednesday morning, New York City Transit Authority president Andy Byford didn’t explicitly mention marijuana, but noted that the MTA was “open… to other sources of funding.”

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MTA Managing Director Ronnie Hakim, meanwhile, noted that “money has the appeal.”

“So what we’re looking for is alternative revenue sources,” Hakim said. “Where those sources come from [is] for others to decide.”

While some subway riders said they were opposed to the idea, others said they would consider supporting it.

“Perhaps [it’s] not a bad idea,” one commuter said. “Because God knows trains need to be fixed.”