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New York regulators have issued warnings to more than two dozen businesses that they allege are either illegally selling marijuana without a license or exploiting a “gifting” provision of the state’s cannabis law.
After former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed an adult-use legalization bill into law last year, adults 21 and older were immediately permitted to possess and publicly consume cannabis, as well as gift marijuana to other adults as long as they weren’t being compensated.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that he would resign from office amid sexual-harassment and assault allegations added fuel to the political crisis rocking the state and could further slow the rollout of the recreational marijuana program he signed into law.
Any delays could hurt smaller operators in particular, including social equity applicants, who plan to apply for licenses to operate cultivation facilities, shops and other businesses in a market that is expected to exceed $2 billion in annual sales in a few years time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Several MSOs, including Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries and Trulieve, have spent tens of millions of dollars in the past two years to enter or expand in Connecticut’s MMJ market and position themselves for the possible legalization of recreational cannabis.
In addition, any adult-use market is expected to generate license and ancillary opportunities for a number of Connecticut-based enterprises, including social equity applicants and small businesses.
During a press conference, Senate and Assembly members and reform advocates took Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to task over the legalization plan he outlined in his budget request last month. Legislative leaders said the proposal shows that the governor isn’t serious about enacting the policy change and called for the passage of a bill out of the legislature instead.
