Is an impostor trying to submarine legislation to legalize retail marijuana in New York State?

The majority leader of the state Assembly said as much in a video posted to Twitter on Monday evening.

Democrat Crystal Peoples-Stokes said colleagues in Albany told her this week, someone by the name of “Crystal Peoples” has called their offices and told them not to vote for the marijuana bill she sponsored.

That would likely come as a surprise, since Peoples-Stokes is one of the biggest proponents for legalization and has sponsored legislation for the last six years. She asked whoever is using her name to please stop trying to speak for her as well.

“Full disclosure, if you ever hear me say, ‘Do not vote to legalize adult-use of marijuana,’ it would only be because we could not get a guaranteed reinvestment into communities that have been negatively impacted as a result of the mass incarceration,” she said.

Peoples-Stokes has repeatedly said making sure disenfranchised communities benefit from legalization is a deal-breaker for her, an opinion also voiced by the Assembly speaker and governor at various times. However, the lawmaker has also expressed confidence a bill will pass this year after losing traction at the end of last year’s session.

The governor has proposed his own “adult-use” legislation as part of the budget and while Peoples-Stokes has said she would prefer to pass her proposal as is, she also said she believes they can reconcile differences.

She tweeted that if any colleagues or their staff have questions, to contact her office directly.