Trees with fading leaves of early fall surrounded a wide field near Livingston at Old Mud Creek Farm, the home of Hudson Hemp. The site is one of the few legal hemp farms in the state, and may be a harbinger of what could become an agricultural economic driver in New York. “Hemp has tremendous […]
New York
NY Listening Sessions on Legalizing Marijuana Under Way
New York’s governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, announced two more listening sessions on regulated marijuana will be held, raising the total number to 17 across the state during September and October. The sessions began Sept. 24 and are scheduled to continue until Oct. 17. “As we begin the process of creating a model regulated marijuana program, […]
New York Can’t Afford to Concede Retail Cannabis to New Jersey
New York state may see potential tax dollars go up in a puff of pot smoke. With New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy leading a fast-track push to legalize recreational marijuana, pot dispensaries could soon be as close as a seven-minute train ride from Manhattan. Once people start hopping the PATH train to Jersey City to […]
Manhattan DA Decriminalizes Cannabis Use In The Borough
Starting Wednesday (8/1), most cases of marijuana smoking and possession in Manhattan won’t be prosecuted. Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance released a new “decline to prosecute” policy for the D.A.’s office on Tuesday (7/31). Vance says: Every day I ask our prosecutors to keep Manhattan safe and make our justice system more equal and fair. The […]
Cuomo Moves Closer to Marijuana Legalization in New York
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo took a step closer to voicing full-throated support for legal marijuana on Friday, embracing elements of a state Health Department report that favored legalization. Mr. Cuomo, addressing reporters after an unrelated speech in Brooklyn, said New York would no longer have the option of trying to simply prevent the flow of […]
Medical marijuana maker: Legalizing recreational use of marijuana in NY is a balancing act
Any day, week or month now, the state Department of Health will tell New Yorkers why it’s recommending marijuana be legal for recreational use. In mid-June, Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said the pros of marijuana outweigh the cons,said his department would release its report on the subject “soon.” A health department spokeswoman this week […]
Marijuana in New York: Here’s How the Laws Are Changing
New York is getting closer to legal marijuana. On Monday, the state health commissioner said he would recommend legalizing the drug, and on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would hand out tickets to people smoking pot instead of arresting them. But before New Yorkers break out their gummies and vape pens, here’s an explainer […]
New York Moves Toward Legal Marijuana With Health Dept. Endorsement
ALBANY — New York moved a significant step closer to legalizing recreational marijuana, as a study commissioned by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will recommend that the state allow adults to consume marijuana legally, the governor’s health commissioner said on Monday. The announcement by the commissioner, Howard Zucker, signals a broad turnaround for the administration of […]
Could New York Be the Next State to Legalize Marijuana?
The New York Police Department regularly faces criticism over the disproportionate number of Black and brown people who are arrested for marijuana possession. The department’s constant refrain has been that officers go where they are called. They respond to complaints to the city’s 311 assistance line or calls to 911. Arrests, they say, flow naturally […]
Medical marijuana expansion could be steppingstone to recreational legalization in New York
There are several issues that need to be resolved before adult marijuana use should be legalized, industry insiders said. Pioneers of New York’s medical marijuana program are expressing cautious excitement over the prospect of adult use legalization. “This industry is probably the fastest moving industry there is right now,” said Jeremy Unruh, director of public […]
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Instructs NYPD To Stop Arresting People Smoking Marijuana
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has told top brass at the city’s police department to stop arresting people who are caught smoking marijuana in public, according to a City Hall aide. Currently, smoking in public can lead to arrest, while possession of small amounts of marijuana can lead to a summons. This weekend, […]
New York Gubernatorial Candidate Nixon Throws Support Behind Legalizing Cannabis
Cynthia Nixon, the actress and Democratic candidate for governor, told supporters at a private fund-raiser last week that if elected she would seek to legalize marijuana and tax it to raise revenue for New York, attendees said. “She said that if marijuana is legal, we can tax it and make a lot of money from […]
New York’s Medical Marijuana Law Comes Of Age
Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Care Act (N.Y. Pub. Health L. §3369 (2014)) (CCA), into law in July 2014, legalizing medical marijuana in New York state, the landscape for legal cannabis in New York has changed considerably. What originally was seen as one of the most restrictive medical marijuana laws in the country, […]
New York Judge Tosses Lawsuit To Legalize Marijuana Nationally
A federal judge in New York tossed out a sweeping lawsuit Monday that sought to make marijuana legal under federal law, ruling that the plaintiffs had failed to take the necessary first step of asking the Drug Enforcement Administration to remove cannabis from its list of dangerous substances. The ruling by the judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein […]
Despite NYC’s Lenient Pot Policy, This Shocking Marijuana Arrest Statistic Persists
Four years after New York City unveiled a new marijuana enforcement policy, lawmakers say data shows racial disparities persist in the marijuana arrest capital of the world—and blasted the NYPD for saying it’s due to complaints from communities of color. In 2014, the city unveiled a new policy whereby officers issue a summons instead of carrying out […]
New York To Study Idea Of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
ALBANY – New York will study whether it’s plausible to legalize marijuana for recreational use as neighboring states move ahead with it, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. Cuomo called on lawmakers to approve funding for a feasibility study as part of his annual state budget address, where he laid out his spending proposal for the […]
New York Senator Thinks State Should Be Next to Legalize Marijuana
Brooklyn Law School last week was the epicenter of a growing movement to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in New York. The school’s Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship (CUBE) on November 6 hosted Cannabis Law: From Criminalization to Opportunity, billed by organizers as the largest cannabis policy reform event ever held in New York. As […]
New York’s High Medical Marijuana Prices Are Pushing Patients to the Black Market
New York State passed medical marijuana legislation in 2014, with patients able to purchase their medicine at licensed dispensaries since 2016. This year, the program expanded further, with broadly defined ailments like chronic pain added to the state’s list of qualifying conditions. But even with the expanded qualifiers opening the system to millions of New Yorkers, […]
