Leading judicial candidates Andrew Yang and Eric Adams clashed over drug legalization during a forum on criminal justice issues on Wednesday.
Speaking about his stance on illicit drugs during a virtual forum sponsored by Vocal-NY on Wednesday night, Adams said he is opposed to “decriminalizing” possession of small drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
Yang said that he would support the reduction of keeping all of the small drugs out of all drugs and instead want to bring people into substance abuse treatment.
“No no. I don’t support him. I’m an ex [police officer]. Therefore, Brooklyn’s current president, Adams, appeared in the same Zoom group as Yang and candidate Diana Morales said, “I have a different view of some of these things.”
They were asked about prosecuting or not prosecuting defendants arrested for small amounts of hard drugs as well as marijuana.
“I do not support legalizing crack cocaine. It is devastating when you see what it does, ”Adams said.
“I do not support legalization of heroin, I do not support legalization of those serious drugs.”
Adams said he supports legalizing marijuana.
Yang, who spoke after Adams, said he wanted treatment for small amounts of opioids instead of prosecution.
“I am supporting the decriminalization of many of these prescription opioids. Yang said pharmaceutical companies have shed billions of dollars of blood.
“What happens is people often graduate from these prescription drugs to other forms of opioids, and then we’re criminalizing that behavior, even if it was inspired by this corporate behemoth that made billions of dollars. For me , It’s not like a criminal activity problem as a public health problem. “
“And if you have a public health problem and you people are often accustomed to major corporations spending hundreds of millions of dollars to this effect, then you just try to minimize the negative health consequences, the loss of life, these Addictions and not criminalization of that behavior. The goal should be to get help from these people. “
Asked if he opposed the decriminalization of small amounts of all drugs, Yang said: “No. I will not instruct my DA to sue for personal possession. We should get people who are trying to profit and berating other people. We should not chase people for possession. “
The mayor does not supervise district attorneys, who are independently elected.
Yang also stated that he was open to “legalizing other substances”, although it was not immediately clear which ones.
Drug overdoses and deaths largely lead to abuse of opioids which is a concern during the coronavirus epidemic. Health officials have also given methadone to users’ homes during the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a recent Emerson College-WPIX-11 mayoral poll, Yang, a 2020 candidate for the White House, received 32 percent of the vote with a pack of Democratic primary candidates. Adams came in second place with 19 percent support.
During the forum, Morales also stated that she would oppose prosecuting individuals for lesser amounts of hard drugs.
Like Adams, other candidates who had appeared in other panels earlier in the stage were also wary of undermining even small possession of powerful, illegal drugs.
“I don’t support decriminalization,” candidate Ray McGuire said.
Candidate Sean Donovan raised concerns about decriminalization across the board, citing the harmful effects of fentanyl and that users may also consume small amounts of some drugs.
The city’s former sanitation commissioner, candidate Catherine Garcia, raised similar concerns.
Two other mayoral candidates, city Comptroller Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley, also stopped short of taking possession of all illegal drugs altogether. Stringer argued that the harsh sentences for drug possession have been retaliated.
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