Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed pessimism about the prospects for passage this year of a newly amended bill to legalize marijuana in New York for adult, recreational use, saying during a radio interview Tuesday that the votes weren't there to approve the legislation in the State Senate.

The comments from Cuomo—a supporter of wider legalization of marijuana—came after a coalition of defense attorney organizations publicly urged the Legislature to pass the new version of the bill, which would legalize the drug and allow low-level marijuana-related convictions to be expunged.

The bill, called the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, was amended late May 24 by lawmakers who sponsor it to bring the measure closer in line with Cuomo's own proposal on marijuana legalization earlier this year.