New York: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

12th June 2024: US - New York: The Cannabis Control Board (CCB) has approved regulations to allow the home cultivation of cannabis. The regulations will take effect when they are published in the state register. Under the approved rules, adults may cultivate three mature plants and three immature plants per person, with up to double that amount per household if more than one adult resides there. The processing of cannabis concentrates will be allowed if certain procedures are followed.
19th March 2024: US - New York: Damian Fagon, chief equity officer of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), was placed on administrative leave following a New York Cannabis Insider investigation into allegations of retaliation and selective enforcement on behalf of the state agency, media reports. The complaint against him was referred to the state inspector general’s office for investigation after the owner of a processing company accused him of retaliating against her for speaking out in a report published by the New York Cannabis Insider. The OCM’s executive director, Chris Alexander, said: “To ensure a transparent, thorough investigation into the allegations made, the Office placed Mr. Fagon on leave. We remain committed to building a sustainable, equitable cannabis market and protecting our integrity and credibility during such a pivotal moment for our market.”
18th March 2024: US - New York: Democratic governor Kathy Hochul has mandated that the state’s cannabis licensing scheme be reviewed after calling it a “disaster”. The revision will be conducted by senator Jeanette Moy, commissioner of the Office of General Services, who is ready to fulfil “our promise to an equitable legal market place”, said fellow senator Jeremy Cooney. Despite the state authorities having received over 7,000 applications, they only granted authorisation to around 100 businesses, which has led to the proliferation of illegal retailers. This, in turn, triggered a lawsuit by the Coalition for Access to Regulated and Safe Cannabis (CARSC).
19th February 2024: US - New York: The New York Cannabis Control Board (CCB) has approved an additional 109 recreational cannabis licences and approved proposed rules for the home cultivation of cannabis. The proposed rules for home cultivation will now undergo a public comment period for 60 days. Under the proposed rules, adults would be allowed three mature plants and three immature plants per person, with up to double that amount per household if more than one adult resides there. The processing of cannabis concentrates would be allowed if certain procedures are followed.
17th January 2024: US - New York: Governor Kathy Hochul's budget proposal for the fiscal year 2025 proposes eliminating the THC potency tax in lieu of a weight-based taxation scheme. Specifically, the proposal seeks to replace the potency tax "with a wholesale excise tax of 9 percent, while maintaining the State retail excise tax rate of 9 percent and the local retail excise tax rate of 4 percent" in an effort to "promote and support the expansion of the legal adult-use cannabis market".
4th December 2023: US - New York: The New York Supreme Court has approved a settlement in two lawsuits that will now allow the Office of Cannabis Management to resume processing and reviewing conditional adult-use retail dispensary programme (CAURD) licences. The approved settlement could allow for the opening of 436 dispensaries by provisional CAURD licensees.
28th November 2023: US - New York: The Cannabis Control Board approved a settlement that could allow for the opening of 436 dispensaries by provisional conditional adult-use retail dispensary programme (CAURD) licensees. The settlement stems from a lawsuit brought by a group of military veterans seeking CAURD licences and must still be approved by the New York Supreme Court.
21st November 2023: US - New York: The Cannabis Control Board (CCB) has voted to amend rules on hemp cannabinoid products that restrict the amount of THC that can be contained in hemp products. The rules were initially proposed in July 2023 and set upper limits of THC and cannabinoids that may be contained in various hemp product formats. For example, hemp products that are orally consumed, like edibles and beverages, may not contain more than 1 mg THC per serving or 10 mg per package. Products that contain more would be treated as cannabis products.
14th November 2023: US - New York: A state court has ruled that state regulators did not follow proper procedure in imposing an emergency rule that limits the amount of THC in hemp products. The emergency rule, which was enacted in July 2023, required that hemp products have a CBD-to-THC ratio of at least 15:1 in ingestible products and set a THC cap by product format. The court concluded that regulators did not sufficiently justify imposing an emergency rule and should have used standard channels of rulemaking, including a public comment period. Therefore, the rule may not be enforced for the time being, and any such rule must be adequately justified as an emergency or else go through standard rulemaking procedures.
18th October 2023: US - New York: The New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced that it is extending the application deadline to apply for recreational cannabis licences. The deadline for non-provisional retail and microbusiness licences has been extended to 17th November, while the deadline for all other licences has been extended to 18th December.
13th September 2023: US - New York: The New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) approved proposed regulations for recreational cannabis, which will allow for general licence applications to start being submitted from 4th October. Holders of conditional cultivator and processor licences that have already been issued will also be able to apply for full, non-conditional licences. The CCB also approved a resolution to allow registered organisations, which mostly consist of multi-state operators, to apply for recreational cannabis licences at a date to later be determined by the Office of Cannabis Management. Although the CCB’s actions pave the way for companies to apply for general recreational cannabis licences, a judge has stopped the issuance of new conditional adult-use recreational licences while a lawsuit challenging the process is litigated.
30th August 2023: US - New York: A week after exempting 30 cannabis businesses from an injunction and allowing them to open for business, a judge reversed the exemptions, citing misrepresentations by state regulators, press reports. The court's previous order allowed licence applicants who had met all licensing approvals prior to 7th August to proceed in the licensing process, but the judge found on Tuesday (29th August) that the 30 applicants originally exempt from the hold on applications had not sufficiently advanced in the process to be exempt.

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