Bethany Bump asks in the Albany Times Union how close is New York State to legalizing marijuana. "I think there's a very good chance the Assembly will take it up this year, and if it comes to the floor it will pass," said Richard Gottfried, a Democrat who chairs the Assembly's health committee and stumps for its passage every year. "The Senate, obviously, at the moment is a very different story." Several more Democrats would have to be elected in the Senate before a measure could pass. Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine have legalized the drug, and Canada and New Jersey might. New York was the 22nd state to legalize some form of medical marijuana, though its program is considered among the most restrictive in the country. Sen. Liz Krueger is working to push her Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in New York after those nearby states have. "Not only has the world not ended, those states are learning what we know will be true here," she said, at a news conference on the bill May 8. "We will be decreasing the costs in our criminal justice probably by $400 (million) to $600 million a year." Gov. Andrew Cuomo was opposed to legalization, but has recently softened that stance since Democratic opponent Cynthia Nixon has enthusiastically endorsed legalization. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.