Adult use marijuana is now legal on both sides of the Hudson. But while New York’s law allows residents to grow up to six marijuana plants at home, in New Jersey, cultivating 10 plants in your basement could get you 20 years in prison.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Friday unveiled a new government website that provides information about the provisions of the state’s new marijuana legalization law, which went into effect under a bill he signed on Wednesday.
The governor’s office has been running victory laps since the bill’s signing, and the website for the new Office of Cannabis Management is the latest example of how the administration is working to show its commitment to effectively implementing the policy change.
Both states are in line to reap hundreds of millions in tax revenue, but awaiting the “winner” of the legal weed race could be a lucrative period of exclusivity, where not just state residents but millions of visitors from across the Mid-Atlantic could conceivably be within a few hours of legal — and taxed — marijuana.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Wednesday morning to legalize adult-use, recreational cannabis in New York and create the country’s second-largest recreational marijuana market.
It took New Jersey years to become the first in the tri-state region to legalize recreational marijuana and it looks like it may already be losing its head start. This week New York’s governor and Legislature finalized a deal to make the drug legal for adults.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday signed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana for all adults over the age of 21.
Why it matters: New York is the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana and is expected to quickly become one of the largest markets for legal cannabis in the country.
What would legalization mean for New Yorkers?
New Yorkers would be allowed to possess up to three ounces of cannabis for recreational use. Club-like lounges or “consumption sites” where marijuana — but not alcohol — could be consumed would also be permitted, according to details of the plan obtained by The New York Times.
The police could use the smell of marijuana as a reason to suspect a driver is under the influence, but could not use the odor as the primary justification to search a vehicle.
After years of false starts, New York state lawmakers said Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to legalize the sale of marijuana for recreational use by adults starting next year.
State Sen. Liz Krueger said lawmakers were finalizing a bill that would create a new state regulator for cannabis products and decriminalize the possession of up to three ounces of marijuana. New Yorkers will be allowed to cultivate marijuana for personal use and the state will study a new system for determining whether drivers are inebriated because of marijuana use, she said.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) said on Tuesday that the legislature is “really, really, really close on marijuana” following negotiations with executive staff office over recent weeks. “We have gotten past the impasse of the impaired driving.”
“We are looking to get language that will I think be satisfactory in the next day or so,” she said during a virtual press briefing.
While Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Liz Krueger (D) didn’t explicitly confirm what kind of language was agreed upon, she said in the new radio interview that she’s “extremely pleased with the agreement that we have come to” with the governor when it comes to giving adults a home grow option and how to allocate cannabis tax revenue for social equity purposes.