The Drug Policy Alliance is happy Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $178 billion budget plan will once again include a provision to legalize marijuana. 

But the pro-legalization group is concerned that there is no provision guaranteeing revenue from marijuana sales would be directed to communities negatively impacted by harsh drug laws. 

"Without this necessary component, the Governor’s proposal will not truly right the wrongs done to communities of color by disproportionate enforcement of marijuana," said Kassandra Frederique, the group's managing director of policy. 

Cuomo in his budget presentation on Tuesday laid out a plan that would tax marijuana largely the same as he proposed in 2019. Lawmakers last year could not agree, however, on a framework for legalization and instead approved a measure to decriminalize marijuana possession and expunge records for prior offenses. 

A Siena College poll on Tuesday found the strongest support in the survey's history for marijuana legalization, but suburban voters remain split on the measure. 

"As New York establishes a new industry, it is vital that we seek to redress the significant damage caused by prohibition," Frederique said. "Any bill legalizing marijuana that aims to center social equity needs to direct tax revenue from sales toward the communities that are still reeling from decades of biased enforcement, which the Governor has long recognized. And legislation must include specific language to resolve the devastating collateral consequences of marijuana prohibition in the fields of housing, employment, child welfare, and immigration."