NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
On March 31, 2021, New York’s then-Governor Andrew Cuomo signed adult use cannabis into law. Since the bill’s passage, the state has seen the ouster of the governor, a lukewarm cannabis proponent on his best days. During her first weeks in office, newly inaugurated Governor Kathy Hochul has seemingly bumped cannabis reform up on the state’s list of priorities.
Still, regulations remain to be determined. As the Empire State stares down the prospect of a $3.5 billion-per-year legal market and 60,000 jobs created, it must contend with a myriad of hurdles often centered on social and economic equity and a modicum of restorative justice for those most affected by the drug war.
Sentiment among some of the tristate area’s leading cannabis legal and advocacy veterans appears optimistic early on. However, most regulations remain uncertain as of fall 2021.
REVVING UP
What is clear is that the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) allows New Yorkers to consume cannabis anywhere cigarette consumption is permitted and possess an ounce in public. Home grow is permitted, but is yet to be legal. When the marketplace opens, largely anticipated for 2022, adults 21 and over will be allowed to purchase pot products. For cannabis brands, the Act legalized the production, distribution and use of cannabis, removing cannabis and its products from the state’s Controlled Substances Act. The MRTA also created the Office
