Pubdate: Mon, 19 May 2014
Source: Journal News, The (NY)
Copyright: 2014 The Gannett Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.lohud.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1205
Author: Joseph Spector

ASSEMBLYMAN KATZ MAKES CAMEO ON HBO'S "VICE"

Assemblyman Steve Katz, the pro-marijuana Republican, made a brief 
appearance in the documentary episode of HBO's "Vice."

The "Rocky Mountain High" episode, which first ran April 23, dealt 
with the explosion of legalized marijuana in the country and included 
a segment from a pro-marijuana investor meeting in Las Vegas in January.

Katz, R-Yorktown, Westchester County, attended the event and part of 
his speech made it into the show.

"Ten years ago, can you imagine having the cojone (sic) or the 
foresight or the guts to be able to start a business like this?" Katz 
said. "In the next 24 months, prohibition, for the most part, gonna be over."

He received applause.

Katz voted against medical marijuana in the Assembly in 2012, then 
was ticketed in March 2013 on the Thruway near the Capitol for 
marijuana possession and speeding.

Soon after, Katz became an advocate of legalizing marijuana - both 
for recreational and medicinal purposes - and voted to legalize 
medical marijuana in New York last year.

In December, he announced he was teaming up with a California 
venture-capital firm to seek investments in the marijuana sector -- 
which led him to Las Vegas in January.

Another state Sen. Richard "Tick" Segerblom, a Democrat from Nevada, 
predicted under Nevada's legalization of medical marijuana last year: 
"Welcome to the future Amsterdam of the West."

The New York state Legislature is currently debating whether to 
legalize medical marijuana. A vote is planned tomorrow before the 
Senate Health Committee.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom