Governor Cuomo announces proposal to legalize and create an equitable cannabis use program for adults as part of the State of the State of 2021

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a proposal to legalize and create a comprehensive system to oversee and regulate cannabis in New York as part of the State of the State of 2021. According to the governor’s proposal, a new Office of Cannabis Management it would be created to oversee the new adult use program as well as existing state medical and cannabinoid hemp programs. In addition, an equitable framework for the adult market will be created, offering licensing opportunities and assistance to entrepreneurs in communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. Once fully implemented, legalization is expected to generate more than $ 300 million in tax revenue.

“Despite the many challenges New York faced in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it also created a number of opportunities to correct long-standing mistakes and rebuild New York better than ever,” Governor Cuomo said. “Not only will legalizing and regulating the adult cannabis market provide the opportunity to generate much needed revenue, but it will also allow us to directly support individuals and communities that have been most harmed by decades of cannabis prohibition.”

The governor’s proposal is based on years of work to understand and decriminalize adult cannabis. In 2018, the Department of Health, under the direction of Governor Cuomo, conducted a multi-agency study that concluded that the positive impacts of legalizing cannabis for adults far outweighed the negative ones. It also found that decades of banning cannabis failed to achieve public health and safety goals and led to unfair arrests and convictions, especially in communities of color.

In 2019, Governor Cuomo signed legislation to decriminalize penalties for illegal marijuana possession. The legislation also proposed a process to eliminate records of certain marijuana convictions. Later that year, the governor led a multi-state summit to discuss ways to legalize cannabis for adult use that would ensure public health and safety and coordinate programs regionally to minimize the cross-border movement of cannabis products.

Based on this important work, the proposal reflects national standards and emerging best practices to promote responsible use, limiting the sale of cannabis products to adults aged 21 and over and establishing strict quality and safety controls, including strict regulation of packaging, labeling, advertising and testing of all cannabis products. Cannabis regulation also offers the opportunity to invest in research and direct resources to communities that have been most affected by the cannabis ban.