(Photo: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday threw cold water on the chances of New York legalizing marijuana through the state's budget, saying an agreement on the issue was not likely.

The April 1 deadline to pass a state budget was quickly approaching for legislators as Cuomo spoke.

The third-term governor, in a radio interview Tuesday afternoon, said he does not believe an agreement over how to legalize marijuana will be reached. He said there was not enough time to work through a variety of details that come with legalizing a drug, such as how many licenses will be provided and who will give them out. The coronavirus pandemic took a lot of time that could have been devoted to policy development, Cuomo said.

"In truth, that is something that had to be talked through and worked through and the Legislature wasn't here. I was doing this COVID virus," he said. 

Democrats last year also failed to pass an agreement legalizing the drug, in part over differences about where the state should funnel tax revenue from marijuana sales. Advocates and some Democratic leaders wanted commitments that marijuana revenue would go toward communities disproportionately affected by the drug's prohibition.

New York's state budget is often used to push through large-scale policy proposals, but lawmakers' focus has swiftly turned to handling the coronavirus pandemic, which is only expected to worsen. 

The state has issued sweeping orders that sharply restrict gatherings and mandate that nonessential workers stay home—rules that have sparked economic havoc on certain industries. 

Kassandra Frederique with the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that backed legalization, acknowledged the coronavirus outbreak demands the full attention of state lawmakers. But the organization is still committed to legalizing the drug, she said, adding that regulation should be centered around racial and economic justice.

"We know the same communities targeted by drug enforcement are the ones with the least access to healthcare right now," she said in a statement.