The number of marijuana-related arrests and summonses plummeted in New York City in the first quarter since the state’s legalization law took effect, data released by NYPD shows.
While it might not seem surprising to see arrests drop following legalization, the decline was far more significant than those seen in other jurisdictions that have previously ended cannabis prohibition—and it likely has to do with a unique aspect of New York’s marijuana law that allows for public smoking.
On Wednesday, the Hoboken City Council voted unanimously on a resolution urging Governor Murphy and state legislators to allow certain municipalities the flexibility to generate additional local tax revenue from the sale of cannabis. Given the city's proximity and accessibility to New York City, there is the potential for a significant influx of customers from what many consider a rather dynamic marijuana market, local officials say.
Despite recreational pot still being illegal here, New Yorkers are helping fuel the trend.
“Business is up a good 50 percent,” said one Manhattan dealer (who asked to remain anonymous). “I work in every borough except Staten Island, and people are very happy that my service is running. Customers are saying ‘Thank you’.”
Vladimir Bautista, the Westchester-based CEO of marijuana lifestyle company HappyMunkey is certainly grateful.
Case in point, New York City police boasted on social media this week about what seemed like a significant drug bust: 106 pounds (48 kilograms) of funky, green plants that officers thought sure seemed like marijuana.
But the Vermont farm that grew the plants and the Brooklyn CBD shop that ordered them insisted they're actually industrial hemp, and perfectly legal. And, they said, they have paperwork to prove it.
A new study on marijuana usage in New York City found that over 1.3 million New Yorkers reported using cannabis in the past year and many of them are residents younger than 34 years old.
The report, released Tuesday by the city's heath department, is the first comprehensive study of the federally illegal drug and it could help pave the way for the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state. Between 2015-2016, 19% of male and 13% of female New York City residents reported using cannabis at least once, according to the study.
Back during the Reagan Administration in the 1980s, a federal statue was passed that required employers to conduct pre-employment tests for marijuana.
But today, marijuana isn’t broadly viewed as the gateway drug it once was, with some states legalizing it entirely and most others legalizing it for medical use. Recreational use varies by state, as does the effort to decriminalize it.
If you were looking to smoke some pot in New York this week, the Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition was the last place you would want to be.
Located in a downstairs corner of the Javits Center (a book convention took up the main pavilion), the sixth annual CWCBE promised attendees a host of seminars and exhibitions. For a $50 entry fee, one could peruse booths of vendors selling CBD dog treats, appetite-suppressing hemp, or “bliss”-inducing gummies.
Many job-seekers would no longer face tests for marijuana use under legislation that New York City is likely to enact, taking a novel step as lawmakers and employers around the U.S. grapple with workplace policies about pot.
The Democrat-led City Council passed a measure Tuesday that would ban pre-employment testing for the drug, with certain exceptions.
A bodega — which is derived from the word for a storehouse where wine is matured — is a small convenience store typically offering alcohol, tobacco, snacks, beverages, and other small offerings. There are more than 15,000 bodegas in the greater New York City area.
Many bodega owners want to be able to sell cannabis once it’s legal. “Right now we sell cigarettes, we sell beer — we are highly regulated. There is no reason why we cannot be included in the packaging, distribution and sale of marijuana,” said Mateo.
New York City's health department has ordered restaurants to stop selling foods and drinks containing CBD, a compound found in cannabis plants.
On Wednesday, customers at Manhattan's Fat Cat Kitchen bakery and restaurant couldn't buy a favorite chocolate-filled cookie that included CBD — which doesn't make people high, but the health agency said it hadn't been deemed safe as a food additive by the federal Food and Drug Administration.