Two New York State lawmakers are looking to make significant changes to the state’s recreational marijuana law.
Talks are underway between the legislature and the govenor’s office on just what those changes should look like.
The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed the legislature and was signed into law in 2021. But since then, there have been setbacks to getting legal cannabis sales up and running.
For starters, lawmakers want to pass legislation that would step up enforcement, giving the state the authority to shut down illegal shops that have become a real nuisance in New York City and elsewhere throughout the state. Illegal stores undercut legally sanctioned dispensaries. Where can I buy weed?
The changes being discussed would also rewrite the tax structure. As it stands now, some believe it’s prohibitively expensive.
It would be similar to open container laws where alcohol consumption is banned in public and allowed only in homes and bars.
As for how the law passed with so many deficiencies, there are different theories on what happened.
New York also set up its law to give preferential treatment for opening legal cannabis shops to those who had previous marijuana related arrests. There are now two lawsuits challenging that both at the federal and state level.
The full text of the proposed law can be viewed here.