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The newly inaugurated governor of New York says she wants to \u201cjumpstart\u201d the implementation of marijuana legalization\u2014and she took a major step on Wednesday by making two key regulatory appointments for the state\u2019s cannabis market that have now been confirmed in a Senate committee during a special session.<\/p>\n
The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday advanced the two nominations. Former New York Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright (D) was nominated to chair the Cannabis Control Board, and former Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) staffer Christopher Alexander was named executive director of the state\u2019s Office of Cannabis Management.<\/p>\n
The actions in the Senate panel set the stage for a full chamber vote, which is expected to happen later in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re definitely excited that the governor has prioritized rolling this out,\u201d Alexander said at the hearing. \u201cWe had a six month delay\u2014we\u2019re behind six months already\u2014and so the [governor\u2019s] priority, she\u2019s been very clear that she wants to get this going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who replaced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) last week after he resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal, has been supportive of the legislature\u2019s passage of the adult-use legalization bill this year. And while her predecessor faced criticism as negotiations with legislators on potential appointments stalled, Hochul has now taken the helm and is working with leaders on how to move the process forward<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hochul said at a press conference on Tuesday that the issue is \u201cvery important to me,\u201d and she will be addressing the \u201clong-overdue decisions pertaining to establishing cannabis in the state of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no reason why simple announcements in terms of who the executive director [of the Office of Cannabis Management] is and who the chairperson is were not done in time, but I\u2019m going to make up for that lost time,\u201d she said<\/a>, criticizing Cuomo for not getting the job done. \u201cI want those decisions made, and I\u2019ve made the decisions as to who I want, but they need confirmation from the legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n Under New York\u2019s legalization law, the independent Office of Cannabis Management within the New York State Liquor Authority was established and will be responsible for regulating the recreational cannabis market as well as the existing medical marijuana and hemp programs. It will be overseen by a five-member Cannabis Control Board. Three members will be appointed by the governor, and the Senate and Assembly would appoint one member each. It\u2019s not yet clear when those other appointments will be made.<\/p>\n Kassandra Frederique, executive director of DPA, said in a press release that \u201cNew Yorkers have been clear that cannabis is a critical criminal justice issue and that the communities that have been most impacted should have a crucial role in governing the new market and the larger regulatory institution, which historically has not been the case in other states that have legalized cannabis,\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy moving swiftly to establish the adult use cannabis program after delays under her predecessor and nominating leaders who have long been involved in the fight for marijuana justice in New York, Governor Hochul is sending a strong signal that the landmark racial and economic justice provisions we fought so hard for in the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act will be taken seriously and implemented accordingly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n I am convening an Extraordinary Session of the Legislature to begin tomorrow. We will:<\/p>\n \u2014 Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) August 31, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Alexander, who has also served as a lobbyist for the Canadian-based marijuana company Village, said<\/a> during an Albany Law School webinar in May that social economic equity should be a priority in marijuana reform.<\/p>\n Frederique said that both appointees \u201cunderstand the deep harm that criminalization has caused to individuals and communities\u2014especially communities of color\u2014across the state.\u201d And their \u201cpast work has reflected a commitment to working with people who have been directly impacted by prohibition and demonstrated a belief in evidence-based policies that center equity and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n As it stands, adults 21 and older can possess up to three ounces of cannabis or 24 grams of concentrates in New York\u2014and they can also smoke marijuana in public anywhere tobacco can be smoked<\/a>\u2014but there aren\u2019t any shops open for business yet.<\/p>\n \u201cNominating and confirming individuals with diverse experiences and subject matter expertise, who are representative of communities from across the state, to the Cannabis Control Board is a priority for Gov. Hochul,\u201d spokesperson Jordan Bennett recently told<\/a>\u00a0The New York Post. \u201cWe look forward to working with the legislature to keep this process moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) have also had conversations with the governor about her priorities for cannabis implementation in recent days. The speaker told The Post that Hochul \u201cdid say [confirming regulators] was something that she wanted us all to concentrate on\u2014and we agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s welcome news for advocates who had grown frustrated with Cuomo for slow-walking the appointments. There were serious disagreements between the former administration and lawmakers about who to appoint, but they\u2019re encouraged by the new governor\u2019s moves that signal her administration will be proactive in getting the regulatory infrastructure set up in a timely manner.<\/p>\n Adding pressure to get the market up and running is the fact that regulators in neighboring New Jersey\u00a0recently released rules for its adult-use marijuana program<\/a>, which is being implemented after voters approved a legalization referendum last year.<\/p>\n When it comes to Hochul\u2019s overall stance on cannabis policy, she was a consistent advocate for the prior administration\u2019s legalization plan and said the reform was \u201clong overdue\u201d for New York. She also defended Cuomo\u2019s proposal in the face of criticism of various provisions from some advocates, but she told Marijuana Moment in January that\u00a0there was room for amendments<\/a>, many of which were made to address activists\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n While serving as lieutenant governor, Hochul said in an\u00a0interview<\/a>\u00a0with Cheddar that she wants to ensure that the emerging industry is equitable and that \u201ccommunities of color will understand exactly what\u2019s involved in applying for these licenses as soon as they\u2019re available.\u201d<\/p>\n After Cuomo\u00a0signed legalization into law in March<\/a>, the official said, \u201cnot only will this help correct an unjust system that targets marginalized communities, it will create jobs & invest in those who have been historically underserved.\u201d<\/p>\n In July, a New York senator filed a bill to create a provisional marijuana licensing category<\/a>\u00a0so that farmers could begin cultivating and selling cannabis ahead of the formal rollout of the adult-use program. The bill has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee.<\/p>\n The state comptroller recently projected that New York stands to eventually\u00a0generate $245 million in annual marijuana revenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the first year of cannabis sales, the state is expected to see just $20 million in tax and fee collections. That will be part of an estimated $26.7 billion in new revenues that New York is expected to generate in fiscal year 2021-2022 under a budget that the legislature passed in April.<\/p>\n \u201cCannabis legalization will create more than 60,000 new jobs, spurring $3.5 billion in economic activity and generating an estimated $300 million in tax revenue when fully implemented,\u201d\u00a0the former governor\u2019s office said in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a New York lawmaker introduced a bill in June that would require the state to establish an institute to\u00a0research the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>.<\/p>\n Senators Flooded With Input On Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post New York Lawmakers Approve Governor\u2019s Key Marijuana Regulatory Appointees To \u2018Jumpstart\u2019 Legalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The newly inaugurated governor of New York says she wants to \u201cjumpstart\u201d the implementation of marijuana legalization\u2014and she took a major step on Wednesday by making two key regulatory appointments for the state\u2019s cannabis market that have now been confirmed in a Senate committee during a special session. The SenateContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":49731,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49730"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49730"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49732,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49730\/revisions\/49732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Make open meetings safer & more accessible<\/p>\n![\"☑\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/2611-2.png\")
Confirm nominees to the State\u2019s cannabis program<\/p>\n\n
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\nRead More: New York Lawmakers Approve Governor\u2019s Key Marijuana Regulatory Appointees To \u2018Jumpstart\u2019 Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"