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The governor of New York says her administration is creating a $200 million public-private fund to specifically help promote social equity in the state\u2019s burgeoning marijuana market.<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) released an extensive State of the State book on Wednesday, detailing policies she will pursue in 2022\u2014and promoting equity and economic justice in the cannabis industry is one of those objectives. The document also discusses efforts to support broader harm reduction drug policies and the state\u2019s hemp market.<\/p>\n
The governor said that while marijuana business licenses have yet to be approved since legalization was signed into law last year, the market stands to generate billions of dollars, and it\u2019s important to \u201ccreate opportunities for all New Yorkers, particularly those from historically marginalized communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn support of that goal, Governor Hochul will create a $200 million public-private fund to support social equity applicants as they plan for and build out their businesses,\u201d the document says<\/a>. \u201cLicensing fees and tax revenue will seed the fund and leverage significant private investment.\u201d<\/p>\n Let us seize this moment with great confidence and optimism, and create a legacy of accomplishment that will endure through the ages: A New Era for New York. pic.twitter.com\/RDasv4OxBC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) January 5, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cWhile New York has committed to making its cannabis industry more equitable, this action will put that commitment into practice. New York will lead where many other states have fallen short,\u201d it continues. \u201cThe governor is focused on providing more than basic business supports and training for our future cannabis entrepreneurs, and this fund will provide direct capital and startup financing to social equity applicants as the State takes meaningful steps to ensuring that New York\u2019s cannabis industry is the most diverse and inclusive in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n New York has a goal of issuing at least 50 percent of cannabis business licenses to social equity applicants, including people from communities disproportionately impacted by criminalization, distressed farmers and women- and veterans-owned companies. Hochul says the newly announced fund will help New York achieve that goal.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether these actions will help ensure that as New York\u2019s cannabis industry thrives in the year ahead, more New Yorkers can reap the rewards,\u201d the book says.<\/p>\n With respect to hemp, the administration talked about how the state agriculture department has developed \u201cprogram regulations to add clarity and certainty for hemp growers, and added program staff to better serve the regulated community.\u201d Regulators will also support compliance with federal requirements on hemp sampling and testing by \u201ctraining and certifying private sampling agents to take regulatory samples, ensuring compliance with the federal standard for hemp of not more than 0.3 percent THC.\u201d<\/p>\n The administration also announced that it will be forming a working group comprised of state, federal and industry stakeholders who will focus on \u201cworkforce development and training needs, sampling and testing, and research and market opportunities\u201d for hemp grain and fiber.<\/p>\n New York will also be creating a new Division of Harm Reduction within the Office of Addiction Services and Supports in order to \u201cdevelop and incorporate harm reduction principles and strategies. That includes expanding access to naloxone and buprenorphine, investing in fentanyl test strips, promoting public education and increasing the availability of sterile syringes.<\/p>\n While the document doesn\u2019t explicitly mention safe consumption sites where people could use currently illicit drugs in a medically supervised environment, New York City did recently become the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to sanction such services\u2014and health officials say they\u2019re already saving lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, advocates and stakeholders are eager to see the implementation of legal marijuana sales in the state. A deadline for local municipalities to opt out of allowing cannabis retailers and social consumption facilities to operate in their area recently passed, and hundreds of cities, towns and villages across the state<\/a> have agreed to allow them.<\/p>\n Because the implementation process to allow retailers has been drawn out, one GOP senator said he wanted to give local jurisdictions another year to decide\u00a0whether they will opt out of allowing marijuana businesses<\/a>\u00a0to operate in their area\u2014a proposal that advocates said was unnecessary and would create undue complications for the industry. It did not advance in the legislature.<\/p>\n As the state prepares to launch the first retail marijuana shops, the law signed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) already permits adults 21 and older to\u00a0possess and publicly consume cannabis<\/a>. And other lawmakers are working to build upon the legalization policy.<\/p>\n For example, a New York senator filed a bill last month to make it so that gay, lesbian and bisexual people can\u00a0qualify as social equity applicants<\/a>\u00a0under the state\u2019s marijuana law.<\/p>\n Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D) introduced the legislation, shortly after filing a separate bill to\u00a0include transgender and non-binary people<\/a>\u00a0in the cannabis social equity program. He\u2019s also behind other recent marijuana reform proposals related to cannabis business tax benefits and licensing.<\/p>\n \u2014 In July, Cooney filed a bill to\u00a0create 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.<\/p>\n Cooney is also sponsoring a newly filed bill to allow licensed cannabis companies to\u00a0deduct certain business expenses<\/a>\u00a0on their state tax returns.<\/p>\n Hochul, who replaced Cuomo after he resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal, has repeatedly emphasized her interest in efficiently implementing the legalization law<\/a>.<\/p>\n At a recent event, she touted the fact that\u00a0she had quickly made regulatory appointments<\/a>\u00a0that had been delayed under her predecessor. \u201cI believe there\u2019s thousands and thousands of jobs\u201d that could be created in the new industry, the governor said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, New York\u2019s Cannabis Control Board (CCB)\u00a0held its first meeting in October<\/a>, a key step toward implementing the state\u2019s adult-use marijuana program.<\/p>\n Members of the board, who were\u00a0appointed by the governor and legislative leaders<\/a>, announced that medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to sell flower cannabis products to qualified patients. The $50 registration fee for patients and caregivers was also permanently waived.<\/p>\n In November, regulators also\u00a0approved rules for the state\u2019s cannabinoid hemp program<\/a>, notably clarifying that flower from the crop can be sold but delta-8 THC products are currently prohibited from being marketed.<\/p>\n The state comptroller recently projected that New York stands to eventually\u00a0generate $245 million in annual marijuana revenue<\/a>, which they say will help\u00a0offset losses from declining tobacco sales<\/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 The state Department of Labor separately announced in recent guidance that New York employers are no longer allowed to\u00a0drug test most workers for marijuana<\/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 Another state legislator filed legislation last month to\u00a0legalize psilocybin mushrooms for medical purposes<\/a>\u00a0and establish facilities where the psychedelic could be grown and administered to patients.<\/p>\n Oklahoma Activists File New Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative For 2022 With National Group\u2019s Support<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post New York Governor Announces $200 Million Marijuana Fund To Promote Industry Equity<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The governor of New York says her administration is creating a $200 million public-private fund to specifically help promote social equity in the state\u2019s burgeoning marijuana market. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) released an extensive State of the State book on Wednesday, detailing policies she will pursue in 2022\u2014and promoting equityContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":52132,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52131"}],"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=52131"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52133,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52131\/revisions\/52133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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