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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed two new cannabis-related bills into law over the weekend\u2014one to revive the Cannabis Growers Showcase program, where producers sell products directly to consumers at farmers market-style events<\/a>, and another clarifying that cannabis is categorized as an agricultural crop in the state.<\/p>\n Hochul vetoed a separate measure, however, that would have given marijuana businesses more leeway in how they pay taxes.<\/p>\n Legislative leaders cheered the two new laws, which they said will support cannabis farmers and help build a more robust legal marijuana market.<\/p>\n \u201cThese two new laws create lasting business opportunities for New York\u2019s cannabis growers and offer the same financial relief already in place for other farmers,\u201d Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a statement. \u201cThose who are stepping up to build our cannabis industry\u2014literally from the ground up\u2014shouldn\u2019t face unnecessary hurdles to growing their product and getting it to market.\u201d<\/p>\n The sales bill, A10398<\/a>\/S9679<\/a>, renews an earlier program that was launched by New York regulators as the state\u2019s regulated retail market was just getting off the ground. It gives the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) authorization to grant permits for Cannabis Showcase Events<\/a>, essentially pop-ups where marijuana cultivators and processors can sell products to consumers directly.<\/p>\n New York has struggled to open shops in a timely fashion following the legalization of cannabis in the state, and the showcases were intended as a stopgap to expand access to legal products among consumers while at the same time giving farmers and manufacturers a way to offload product without waiting for more retailers to open their doors. The first iteration of the program, however, sunsetted on January 1, 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cThe roll-out of the adult-use cannabis market has been rocky to say the least for NY\u2019s cannabis farmers,\u201d Assemblymember Donna Lupardo, chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, said in a joint press release with Hinchey. Bringing back the cannabis showcase program, Lupardo continued, \u201cwill expand market opportunities to smaller farmers and provide sales opportunities in areas where legal stores have yet to open.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy all accounts,\u201d the House and Senate agricultural committee chairs added in a press release, \u201cthe CSG program was a success, bringing cultivators, processors, and retail licensees together where they could directly interact with and educate consumers, build brand recognition, and orient consumers to the legal market\u2019s offerings.\u201d<\/p>\n Event permits under the newly signed law will be valid for up to 14 days, the lawmakers said.<\/p>\n As for the agriculture bill, A1234<\/a>\/S1752<\/a>, the new law clarifies existing policies around cannabis. \u201cAmbiguity in the law resulted in some localities questioning whether cannabis was an agricultural crop in relation to tax assessments and zoning rules,\u201d the press release says. \u201cWithout the important protections this law provides, cannabis farmers were at risk of losing their agricultural tax assessments.\u201d<\/p>\n Agricultural assessments typically allow landowners to pay lower tax rates on property used for farming compared to, for example, commercially zoned property.<\/p>\n \u201cFarmers who converted land from growing an agricultural product currently receiving an agricultural assessment to cannabis, could have lost their agricultural assessment on the portion of land they converted, resulting in an unforeseen real property tax increase and possible penalty for conversion,\u201d the release continues. \u201cCannabis will now be considered an agricultural crop and treated as such, the same as grapes grown for wine production, hops and malting barley, along with grains used by distillers.\u201d<\/p>\n Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Lupardo said the change \u201cwill provide statewide uniformity to the way legally grown crops are viewed by local tax assessors.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile Hochul shot down a separate proposal approved by the legislature that would have allowed marijuana growers and processors to pay excise taxes on an annual basis rather than quarterly, as they\u2019re currently required to do. The change would have extended the same treatment to the cannabis industry as the state already offers the alcohol sector.<\/p>\n Nicholas Guarino, the founder and CEO of cannabis business Jaunty, wrote in a recent op-ed for Marijuana Moment that the shift to an annual tax-filing system \u201cwould allow businesses to better manage cash flow, invest in growth initiatives and adapt more effectively to market demands<\/a> as more stores open and more potential customers have access to a range of products.\u201d<\/p>\n Backers had said the bill would have created a \u201cfinancial lifeline\u201d to struggling businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cThe slow rollout of the adult-use cannabis retail market created a backlog of products waiting to be sold,\u201d lawmakers said of the bill in a June press release<\/a>. \u201cThis has created a financial strain on farmers and processors who owe taxes on products before they are sold to consumers. This legislation will allow for flexibility in the market as it matures and could provide a financial lifeline.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, trade groups lauded lawmakers\u2019 efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re deeply thankful to Assemblywoman Lupardo and Senators Hinchey and Cooney for their steadfast support of this industry, and in particular, the hardworking New York farmers who have risked and lost so much to get this industry off the ground,\u201d said Damien Cornwell, president of the Cannabis Association of New York. \u201cThis industry will be stronger for these changes in law that will protect cannabis farms from over taxation and provide financial responsibility, and we look forward to continuing to work with lawmakers to meet this growing industry\u2019s many needs.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Mack Hueber, president of the Empire Cannabis Manufacturers Association: \u201cAssemblywoman Lupardo and Senators Hinchey and Cooney have led the way for this industry in the Legislature and we couldn\u2019t be more thankful for the action they\u2019ve taken to strengthen the entire cannabis supply chain by supporting the New York farmers who opened this market and are now facing hardship due to a slower than expected roll out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Separately in New York, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D) is calling to extend financial assistance to retail operators struggling under high-cost social equity fund loan program<\/a>.<\/p>\n The state is expected to surpass $1 billion in cannabis sales by the end of the year<\/a>, regulators said last month. Meanwhile, regulators are also\u00a0reiterating their call for cannabis consumers to buy local as the holidays get underway<\/a>, as they similarly did last year.<\/p>\n After a\u00a0slow rollout in its first year marked by lawsuits and other delays<\/a>, legal marijuana sales in New York have picked up significantly in the past several months. Regulators say that\u2019s the result of more licensed businesses opening as well as what they describe as a successful crackdown on unlicensed shops.<\/p>\n This spring, for example, officials in New York City launched Operation Padlock, an enforcement initiative meant to shutter illegal storefronts. Since then, licensed shops that were open before the operation began have since seen sales climb 105 percent, according to an OCM survey.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) argued in June that there\u2019s a\u00a0direct correlation between the stepped-up enforcement and \u201cdramatically\u201d increased legal sales<\/a>. A report by state officials earlier this year\u00a0found both \u201cgrowing pains\u201d and \u201csuccessful efforts\u201d in New York\u2019s marijuana market launch<\/a>.<\/p>\n In August, Hochul\u00a0lauding what she called the state\u2019s \u201csmokin\u2019 hot\u201d marijuana market<\/a>, as the retailers in state passed the half-billion-dollar mark in legal sales since the market\u2019s launch.<\/p>\n The governor also said in June that the state\u2019s escalated enforcement actions against illicit marijuana shops is\u00a0resulting in a significant increase in legal sales at licensed retailers<\/a>.<\/p>\n She made the comments amid criticism from equity-focused activists over what they see as a \u201ccorporate takeover\u201d of the cannabis market, citing reporting about the administration dismissing\u00a0concerns from state officials about a \u201cpredatory\u201d private equity loan deal<\/a>\u00a0the state approved to provide funding for startup cannabis retailers.<\/p>\n Certain advocates say Hochul has \u201cfalsely\u201d blamed the legalization law itself for the state\u2019s troubles with the illicit market, without taking responsibility for the administration\u2019s role. To that end, there has been\u00a0criticism of the governor\u2019s ousting of Chris Alexander as executive director<\/a>\u00a0of OCM earlier this year.<\/p>\n New Jersey Marijuana Sales Top $1 Billion Mark For 2024, State Officials Announce<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post New York Governor Signs Bills To Resume Marijuana Farmers Markets And Classify Cannabis As Agricultural Product<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed two new cannabis-related bills into law over the weekend\u2014one to revive the Cannabis Growers Showcase program, where producers sell products directly to consumers at farmers market-style events, and another clarifying that cannabis is categorized as an agricultural crop in the state. Hochul vetoedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":79538,"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\/79537"}],"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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79539,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79537\/revisions\/79539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: New York Governor Signs Bills To Resume Marijuana Farmers Markets And Classify Cannabis As Agricultural Product<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"