NEW YORK, N.Y. New York lawmakers are hell bent on legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

They want to wrap it inside the state budget so that reluctant lawmakers can approve a weed program without actually standing up and voting in favor of it as a stand-alone bill. This even though poll after poll show state residents widely supporting legal weed.

The fact that lawmakers are looking for cover on the issue tells you theres still a powerful stigma about weed out there. Not every area of New York State is as liberal as New York City.

So why take on such a thorny issue? Simple: Money. Legal weed could pour millions upon millions of dollars into state coffers.

Just think of all that we could do with that cash. Improve education. Build more parks. Save the subways!

At least thats what were told.

But if lawmakers want to generate revenue, why arent they pushing just as hard for legalized sports gambling here? In fact, they should shelve their weed dreams and devote their energies to legalizing sports gambling.

According to a new study, New York residents bet $837 million in New Jersey on sporting events last year, as reported by CBS New York.

New Yorkers got in their cars in order to do it. They took mass transit. They placed bets through family members and friends in the Garden State.

Clearly the demand is already there. Can we say the same about weed?

Think of the tax revenue that New York could generate on that kind of betting action. You could slap a tax on every transaction. Why should we lose all that money to New Jersey? Legalizing sports gambling, including online gambling, might be controversial, but shouldnt we take for a real test drive?

Could legalized sports betting could cause people to develop gambling problems or could it make an existing addiction worse? Sure. Safeguards can be built in for that, just like the state plans to build a governing infrastructure for weed.

Will legal sports betting drive organized crime and the corner bookie out of business? No, but legal weed hasnt eliminated the marijuana black market in the various states that have legalized. And weed hasnt provided the predicted revenue windfall everywhere its been legalized either. Everything is a crapshoot.

Cities like Las Vegas, Atlantic City and others around the world have managed lucrative legalized gambling for years upon years. It can be done.

It wouldnt solve all of New Yorks problems, because simply throwing more money at our problems isnt always the solution.

Frankly, I could live without legal weed and legal sports gambling. Im not convinced that the state couldnt spend its money more wisely. But if youre giving me a choice, Id take gambling. At least wed be spared the smell of weed everywhere.

Its still mind-boggling to me that after we spent decades getting people to quit smoking, New York lawmakers want to encourage people to smoke weed. And that includes underage kids who will no doubt get their hands on weed just as easily as they can buy alcohol or cigarettes today.

And does the state really have to legalize weed anyway? Its already been decriminalized to the point where you can smoke weed without fear, at least in New York City. If social justice is truly the goal, that should suffice. Fewer people of color are being arrested for weed. Let each city or country decide for itself if it wants to decriminalize.

But then again, the state doesnt make money off mere decriminalization. And thats the bottom line. Its a big reason why the state wants to legalize. That and the creation of a weed bureaucracy that would generate more jobs, including patronage slots and those benefitting public employee unions.

Lets see where sports betting takes us. Maybe then New York can turn back to weed if we still need money.

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Forget legal weed. Sports gambling is a better bet for New York (opinion) - SILive.com