The “Cannabis Law” legislation would create a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) controlled by a Cannabis Control Council, according to an internal legislative memorandum obtained by CNN.
The proposal would eventually allow New Yorkers over the age of 21 to grow their own plants in their homes, and a 13% tax would be applied to retail sales for state and local tax revenue.
In New York, council officials issue licenses for different stages of the supply chain – cultivation, processing, distribution, dispensaries and retail “consumption” locations, says the memo. The new state office would oversee the regulation of medical and adult cannabis programs.
Some CMO officials would be tasked with focusing on social equity, including a goal of granting 50% of licenses to “candidates for social equity”, such as those from communities affected by marijuana prohibition and minority and female-owned businesses, according to with the memo.
The percentages of the program’s revenue would go to the State Lottery Fund for Education and the Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund. Another part would go to the Community Grants Reinvestment Fund for “grants to qualified community organizations and local government entities approved to reinvest in communities disproportionately affected by previous federal and state drug policies,” says the memo.
The plan would allow the police to justify suspected cannabis odor intoxication, but would prohibit the use of the odor as a justification for the search for contraband in a car, the memo says. “Cannabis impairment” would be included in the “Driving while impaired capacity” offense, which is the lowest level of the “Driving while intoxicated” status.
The new program would also come with a new range of criminal penalties for illegal possession and sale of cannabis, including a violation of three ounces of flowers or 24 grams of concentrated cannabis and a Class D crime for more than 10 pounds of flowers or four pounds concentrated cannabis.
Municipalities can choose to exit the program if residents vote to pass a local law prohibiting dispensaries for adult use within the jurisdiction. Residents can override these laws at the polls through the state’s permissive referendum process, the memo says.
The legalization of marijuana in New Jersey followed a 2020 electoral measure that saw New Jersey vote for the legalization of recreational marijuana. State lawmakers, unable to get enough support to pass a bill to fully legalize marijuana, agreed to pose the question directly to voters: “Do you approve of amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called ‘cannabis’?”
Like New Jersey, Arizona also voted to legalize recreational marijuana, and Montana voted both to establish 21 years as the legal age to buy, own and consume cannabis by constitutional amendment and to legalize marijuana for recreational use. South Dakota approved legalization for recreational and medical use – the first state to approve measures on medical and recreational marijuana at the same time – and Mississippi voted to legalize medical marijuana, making it one of the first southern states to do so. it.
Brian Vitagliano of CNN, Caroline Kelly, Lauren Dezenski and Alicia Wallace contributed to this report.