{"id":72825,"date":"2024-02-28T10:50:17","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T18:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/02\/28\/new-york-governor-pushes-big-tech-to-step-up-by-removing-illicit-marijuana-shop-listings\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T19:46:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T03:46:09","slug":"new-york-governor-pushes-big-tech-to-step-up-by-removing-illicit-marijuana-shop-listings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/02\/28\/new-york-governor-pushes-big-tech-to-step-up-by-removing-illicit-marijuana-shop-listings\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Governor Pushes Big Tech To \u2018Step Up\u2019 By Removing Illicit Marijuana Shop Listings"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s governor is calling on big tech companies such as Google and Meta to \u201cdo the right thing\u201d by taking steps to stop promoting illicit marijuana shops that have proliferated across the state.<\/p>\n

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that social media and search engine companies are passively undermining the legal market that\u2019s being implemented by allowing unlicensed retailers to be featured on their services, giving consumers the false impression that they are legitimate businesses.<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019re hurting our legal shops, and we\u2019ve been in touch with these companies, these platforms, and we\u2019ve told them flat out, \u2018You need to change this,’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hochul added that she doesn\u2019t expect the tech companies to proactively identify and remove illicit shop listings on their own because \u201cthey would tell us that they\u2019re not required to.\u201d To that end, she said her message to the businesses is, \u201clet us help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us give you the list of legal vendors. I know who\u2019s legal. We all know who\u2019s legal. And then you have a responsibility to make sure that you\u2019re not posting the locations of illegal shops,\u201d the governor said. \u201cNow I\u2019m calling on all these platforms to step up, do the right thing and be part of the solution. Don\u2019t be complicit in helping jeopardize the public health and the livelihoods of these legitimate business owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Wednesday\u2019s briefing, Hochul was joined by cannabis stakeholders and advocates, including representatives of organizations that published an open letter to the governor on Tuesday that raised the alarm about social media companies promoting unlicensed retailers.<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m with legal cannabis retailers to update New Yorkers on steps we\u2019re taking to shut down illicit storefronts that threaten health and safety, and undermine our work to create an equitable, legal industry.<\/p>\n

Join me live in Manhattan: https:\/\/t.co\/VHXMGcXOnU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u201cIt all comes down to a simple question: What kind of cannabis marketplace do we want to have in the state of New York?\u201d Hochul said at the event<\/a>. \u201cI think we know the answer. We know which path we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also renewed her call for the legislature to give state and local officials the \u201cpower to padlock the doors of every illicit cannabis shop in the state of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we take back our streets. That\u2019s how we build the most equitable cannabis industry in the country. And that\u2019s how we invest in the communities it was intended to help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The governor started her speech by acknowledging that the state\u2019s marijuana legalization rollout has been a \u201clong journey\u201d with \u201cgrowing pains along the way,\u201d referencing the protracted process of licensing legal storefronts that was complicated by litigation that blocked regulators for months at a time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow with all the legal battles finally behind us as recently as December and hopefully no more, the momentum is finally picking up,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cFifty licensed dispensaries have been opened since the injunction was lifted in December. It will be up to 80 by Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless, she said \u201cit\u2019s just taking, in my opinion, too long,\u201d echoing comments she made on several occasions over recent weeks where she\u2019s expressed frustration with the rollout delays.<\/p>\n

While litigation has contributed to those delays, Hochul has also signaled that she holds the state\u2019s regulatory bodies partly responsible.<\/p>\n

For example, when her office became aware that the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) only intended to approve three additional licenses at a meeting last month, they intervened and made clear that the number was insufficient<\/a>. That meeting was subsequently cancelled.<\/p>\n

The governor went so far as to say earlier this month that she was\u00a0eyeing potential leadership changes within the state\u2019s marijuana regulatory apparatus<\/a>\u00a0because of the implementation issues.<\/p>\n

Regulators have since met for a rescheduled meeting this month, where they approved draft rules to allow for the home cultivation of recreational marijuana and signed off on more than 100 new cannabis business licenses<\/a> that they hope will help the legal market overcome its \u201crocky start\u201d this year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the governor released\u00a0a budget plan last month that calls for the elimination of a THC potency tax<\/a>, aiming to reduce costs for consumers in a way that could make the regulated market more competitive against illicit operators.<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, as New York works to expand the state\u2019s marijuana market, a bill filed in the Assembly last month would empower individual municipal governments to\u00a0shut down unlicensed cannabis businesses and seize their products<\/a>, as the governor has pushed for.<\/p>\n

Separately, the state\u2019s Department of Labor in December\u00a0published dozens of sample job descriptions for positions in the legal industry<\/a>, which officials said are intended to help companies streamline hiring processes and allow prospective employees to assess their qualifications to work in various roles within the emerging cannabis industry.<\/p>\n

Hochul, meanwhile, signed legislation in November that attempts to make it somewhat easier for\u00a0financial institutions to work with state-licensed cannabis clients<\/a>. She also signed a separate bill that\u2019s\u00a0meant to provide tax relief to New York City marijuana businesses<\/a>\u00a0that are currently blocked\u00a0from making federal deductions under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E.<\/p>\n

While Hochul signed an earlier budget bill in 2022 that included provisions\u00a0allow state-level cannabis business tax deductions<\/a>\u2014a partial remedy to the ongoing federal issue\u2014New York City has its own tax laws that weren\u2019t affected by that change. The new measure is meant to fill that policy gap.<\/p>\n

Hochul also recently vetoed legislation that would have allowed\u00a0hemp seeds to be included in animal feed\u00a0for pets, horses and camelids<\/a>\u00a0such as llamas and alpacas.<\/p>\n

In September, 66 state lawmakers\u2014about a third of the entire state legislature\u2014also wrote to Hochul urging her to\u00a0sign a bill that would allow licensed marijuana producers to sell products to tribal retailers<\/a>. The plan would offer a release valve to hundreds of cannabis farmers who are currently sitting on surpluses but have no place to sell their products. In December, however,\u00a0Hochul vetoed that bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Missouri Senators Approve Bill To Legalize Psilocybin Therapy For Veterans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post New York Governor Pushes Big Tech To \u2018Step Up\u2019 By Removing Illicit Marijuana Shop Listings<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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New York\u2019s governor is calling on big tech companies such as Google and Meta to \u201cdo the right thing\u201d by taking steps to stop promoting illicit marijuana shops that have proliferated across the state. During a press briefing on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that social media and searchContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":72826,"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\/72825"}],"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=72825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72827,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72825\/revisions\/72827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}