Assemblyman Steve Katz, a Republican from Yorktown, voted against legalizing medical marijuana last year before getting caught stinking of weed while speeding. Since then, Katz has voted to decriminalize small amounts of pot (“Rather than requiring excessive time and effort by our police force …”) and today, reversed his opinion on medicinal use, but not because of his own legal situation. (He claims.) “My personal life aside, I believe we need to do better jobs of managing peoples’ pain,” Katz said, citing his mother’s spinal condition. “I was forced to listen to some heartbreaking stories from loved ones of those who have to live in unimaginable pain … We will be on the right side of history in voting for this and we will improve the lives of those who are suffering.” Either way, it’s the Rob Portman school of switcheroos, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong.
