<span style="color: #222222;">New York lawmakers passed a bill to legalize adult use of marijuana, which will make it the 15th state in the United States to allow recreational use of the drug.<br />''<br />''Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement yesterday, that, New York has a storied history of being the progressive capital of the nation, and this important legislation will once again carry on that legacy.<br />'' </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The decision was also welcomed by NORML, a pro-marijuana group, which said that tens of thousands of New Yorkers were arrested every year over petty marijuana offenses, and that most were young, poor, and people of colour.<br />'' </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The New York State's official website recently projected that tax collections from the adult-use cannabis program would reach Dollars 350 million annually and also create 30,000 to 60,000 new jobs across the State.</span><br />''  <br />