The new bill was signed into legislation on Wednesday by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
What We Know:
- The bill will allow New Yorkers to pass up to 3 ounces of cannabis, among other stipulations. The legislation is designed to help reduce the inequities of a system that has locked up people of color for marijuana offenses at disproportionate rates. In 2020, people of color made up 94% of arrests related to marijuana in the state of New York. The new bill provides protections for cannabis users in the workplace, housing, family court, schools, colleges, and universities.
- The state of New York still needs to draw up regulations regarding a bill of this caliber, so in reality, sales of recreational marijuana won’t become fully legal for about another 18 months. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) will enforce regulations with a five person team governing the board. The OCM will be an independent office operating as part of the New York State Liquor Authority. Additionally, the new legislation will also expand the list of medical conditions that make some eligible for medical marijuana use.
- Medical marijuana patients will also now be allowed to have more caregivers than they were allowed before. A social and economic equity program will aim to give 50% of licenses to minority or woman-owned businesses to encourage participation in the industry. Another stipulation of the bill is to introduce a new cannabis tax structure that will replace the previous system with a tax per mg of THC at the distributor level. Counties will receive 25% of the local retail tax revenue, and 75% will be attributed to the municipality.
- All cannabis taxes will be deposited in the New York State cannabis revenue fund. Leftover funds will be allocated to Education, Community Grants Reinvestment Fund, and the Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund. The use of cannabis by drivers will remain prohibited and will carry the same penalties as the infraction does now. In light of this news, it should be noted that the cannabis penalty framework will also be restructured as a result of the new legislation.
Reparations for decades of disproportionate cannabis penalties become more of a reality every day. Soon, New York will be one of the major cities in the United States to lead by example.
