Mayor Eric Adams has diagnosed New York City with a chronic problem: too much recreational marijuana.

The criticism is ostensibly fueled by frustration with the smell of marijuana stinking up the streets and public spaces. Still, it is also a swipe at former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed off on legislation legalizing recreational marijuana in 2021 and is now seeking to replace Mr. Adams as mayor in the November election.

“I think it should be relegated to certain areas that you could smoke marijuana, not throughout the entire street, because you do smell it everywhere,” Mr. Adams said on the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast.

“I think that’s one of the negative impacts of our cannabis law that the state government passed,” he said.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat, is running as an independent in the mayor’s race and is struggling with a low approval rating. Polls show he is trailing Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a socialist, and Mr. Cuomo, another Democrat running as an independent.

Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden round out the ballot.

Under the 2021 law, New Yorkers aged 21 and older can legally possess and consume cannabis. 

The city began issuing licenses for recreational marijuana businesses in late 2022, following Mr. Adams’s election to office.

Mr. Adams, a former police officer, has cracked down on more than 1,000 illegal weed operations across the city. It is part of a public safety initiative aimed at cleaning up the city streets and protecting children.

At a press conference last August, Mr. Adams said the city was destroying four tons of illegal cannabis that were seized in raids.

Mr. Adams, who says he does not smoke weed, has also been an advocate for the industry, promoting the idea of New York City becoming an international hub for cannabis.

“We want to make sure that New York becomes the cannabis capital of the globe. Learn, get more information and let’s keep lighting up,” Mr. Adams said at a cannabis festival in July, according to the news outlet amNY.

For his part, Mr. Cuomo evolved on the issue of recreational marijuana before signing off on the legalization bill four years ago, joining 16 other states.

“This is a historic day in New York — one that rights the wrongs of the past by putting an end to harsh prison sentences, embraces an industry that will grow the Empire State’s economy, and prioritizes marginalized communities so those that have suffered the most will be the first to reap the benefits,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement at the time.

There are now 24 states that have legalized recreational marijuana.

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.