New York Senator Fred Akshar says residents in the 52nd district are almost evenly split on legalizing recreational marijuana.

The Binghamton Republican, who opposes the proposal, says 48 of respondents to his survey on the issue support legalization, 46 percent oppose and 5 percent are undecided.

Senator Fred Akshar marijuana survey results
Senator Fred Akshar marijuana survey results
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Akshar says key provisions in the proposal call for setting up separate licensing for growers, distributors and retailers with growers prohibited from opening their own retail shops, a 20-percent state tax and 2-percent local tax on sales from wholesalers to retailers and a per-gram tax on growers, a ban of sales to anyone under 21 and an option for counties and large cities to ban marijuana sales within their borders.

Over 28-hundred people responded to the Senator’s online survey, including 219 people who don’t live in the 52nd Senate District.

In a statement released along with the survey results, Akshar says: “While I’ll continue listening to those on both sides of the issue, I personally believe that legalizing recreational marijuana will create more problems than it will solve.”

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