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An outspoken state assemblyman who serves on the chamber's Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee — and voted against medical marijuana — has been busted for possessing pot, state police said Friday.
Assemblyman Steve Katz, 59, a conservative Republican from the Hudson Valley, was pulled over on the state Thruway for going 80 miles an hour in a 65 mph zone when a trooper detected a “slight odor” of marijuana, state police spokesman Sgt. Don Baker said.
The trooper asked Katz if there was any pot in the car - and the assemblyman said “yes” and handed over a small bag that contained less than 25 grams, Baker said.
The trooper did not see evidence that Katz was driving while impaired so he ticketed him for unlawful possession of marijuana, a noncriminal violation, and speeding — and let him drive off, Baker said. Katz was heading to Albany at the time.
“If there was a concern that he was smoking while driving, we would have brought in a drug recognition expert to determine if he was under the influence, but there was no indication that he was,” Baker said.
Katz — due to appear in Coeymans Town Court on March 28 — declared in a written statement Friday afternoon that he would not let the "unfortunate incident ... impede my public service.”
“This should not overshadow the work I have done over the years for the public and my constituency,” he said. “I am confident that once the facts are presented that this will quickly be put to rest."
As as assemblyman, Katz last year voted against a bill to legalize medicinal marijuana.
In a mailer to his constituents, he talked about how “our community has been stricken with an increase in drug use and drunk driving by our youngest citizens.”
And on March 8, he put out a statement decrying his community’s “struggle against illegal drug culture and the abuse of narcotics.”
Katz has been outspoken about the bad-boy culture of Albany. In January, he criticized Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for his handling of the sexual harassment complaints against Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D-Brooklyn).
Katz — a vetererinarian, from Putnam County — has had his own controversies. He has been arrested two times on charges related to his veterinarian practice, including the illegal dumping of the body of a dead dog. He was never convicted.
Brooklyn Sen. Martin Golden, a fellow Republican, called it “hypocritical” for Katz to have voted against pot legislation and then get charged with possession.
“Be true to yourself,” said Golden, who sees pot as a gateway drug. “If you like marijuana and smoke marijuana, at least vote for it.”
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Assemblyman Steve Katz, 59, a conservative Republican from the Hudson Valley, was pulled over on the state Thruway for going 80 miles an hour in a 65 mph zone when a trooper detected a “slight odor” of marijuana, state police spokesman Sgt. Don Baker said.
The trooper asked Katz if there was any pot in the car - and the assemblyman said “yes” and handed over a small bag that contained less than 25 grams, Baker said.
The trooper did not see evidence that Katz was driving while impaired so he ticketed him for unlawful possession of marijuana, a noncriminal violation, and speeding — and let him drive off, Baker said. Katz was heading to Albany at the time.
“If there was a concern that he was smoking while driving, we would have brought in a drug recognition expert to determine if he was under the influence, but there was no indication that he was,” Baker said.
Katz — due to appear in Coeymans Town Court on March 28 — declared in a written statement Friday afternoon that he would not let the "unfortunate incident ... impede my public service.”
“This should not overshadow the work I have done over the years for the public and my constituency,” he said. “I am confident that once the facts are presented that this will quickly be put to rest."
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A one-ounce bag of medicinal marijuana.
In a mailer to his constituents, he talked about how “our community has been stricken with an increase in drug use and drunk driving by our youngest citizens.”
And on March 8, he put out a statement decrying his community’s “struggle against illegal drug culture and the abuse of narcotics.”
Katz has been outspoken about the bad-boy culture of Albany. In January, he criticized Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for his handling of the sexual harassment complaints against Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D-Brooklyn).
Katz — a vetererinarian, from Putnam County — has had his own controversies. He has been arrested two times on charges related to his veterinarian practice, including the illegal dumping of the body of a dead dog. He was never convicted.
Brooklyn Sen. Martin Golden, a fellow Republican, called it “hypocritical” for Katz to have voted against pot legislation and then get charged with possession.
“Be true to yourself,” said Golden, who sees pot as a gateway drug. “If you like marijuana and smoke marijuana, at least vote for it.”
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