I think he’s already fully aware of the hypocrisy. When you look at how much was invested in anti-cannabis propaganda in the past, it’s probably just a political calculation for him (and so many state leaders) to drop some line about “caution” and kick the can down the road. There’s still a significant chunk of 70+ voters who would be truly upset about legalization, since the alternative would be accepting that they were deliberately misinformed for most of their lives.