New York Looks To Open Dispensaries



Good Smokin America!
I am Mempheattle Smokedawg of GSA News and this is
Puff Puff Pass America
A short overview of canna news
For short attention spans across America

NEW YORK IS GOING LEGIT
You can have it. You can smoke it. But until the Cannabis Control Board fleshes out the structure of the state’s new cannabis law, it will be some time before individuals over the age of 21 will be able to legally purchase marijuana in New York state.

The new law allows individuals to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana (although, again, it is still illegal to buy or sell cannabis in New York, and federal laws prohibit it from being brought across state lines). It can be smoked or vaped anywhere tobacco is allowed, with some exceptions. For example, smoking is banned in the car even if it’s parked as well as anywhere where alcohol is served, said Jennifer Metzger, a former state senator from Rosendale who is a member of the Cannabis Control Board.

While the law may currently seem like an enigma, Metzger said there really is a logic behind it.

“It takes time to set up the whole regulatory framework and it takes time to create new businesses as well,” she said.

Since October, the board has been working to develop the regulations that will govern the new industry, including issuing applications and licenses to cannabis businesses and approving the rules and regulations that will govern the new industry.

The body has already made some headway, particularly around regulations governing medical marijuana — although it’s not available yet, the board has added smokeable marijuana to the approved medical marijuana list and it expanded the providers who can prescribe it — and to the cannabinoid hemp program (CBD), allowing it in food and beverages up to certain thresholds.

Now, Metzger said, the board is turning its attention to the adult recreational use program.

Originally, the board had expected to roll out the adult-use recreational program within 18 months of the law’s passage in March; while that timeframe seems a little more daunting due to the late start, Metzger said commissioners believe it may still be in reach.

“We are trying to make up for lost time,” she said. ” We hope to beat the 18-month deadline. We hope to be able to get the regulator framework in places before then, but we can’t promise.”

Metzger said the new law allows for nine different types of licenses to be issued. The board, she said, must define what those licenses are and the criteria one must meet to receive a particular license. The board must also establish the criteria for those applying for licenses under the law’s social and economic equity provisions. Under the law, 50 percent of the licenses must be awarded to social and economic equity applicants. And it must also establish regulations for on-site consumption of marijuana as well as the regulations governing advertising and marketing. In addition, it must develop regulations for home cultivation, which will be permitted to occur 18 months after the first dispensary opens, as well as for the cultivation, distribution, processing and delivery of the products.

“There’s a lot of meat to be put on the bones of the law,” she said.

This has been Puff Puff Pass Around America
Thank you for watching. If you like this and want to check out our other content, please check us out at our YouTube channel, Good Smokin America, our Facebook Good Smokin America, our
Instagram @goodsmokinamerica and our Twitter @gsa420

This has been Mempheattle Smokedawg of GSA News
smoking off.

source