Senator Jeremy Cooney was adopted from an orphanage in Kolkata, India and raised by a single mother in the City of Rochester. He made history in 2020 as the first Asian American elected to state-level office outside of the greater NYC area.

Senator Cooney was named co-chair of the Marijuana Task Force for the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus and he was instrumental in passing landmark legislation to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana.

The Senator is currently focused on ensuring rollout of legalized adult-use cannabis is done in an effective and equitable way. Current legislation focuses on replacing the THC potency tax with a more straightforward excise tax, repealing the excise tax on medical cannabis, and expanding the social equity component of the MRTA to include LGBTQ New Yorkers.