The chair of a New York Senate cannabis committee says his panel will hold its first public hearing next month to try and identify legislative solutions to the state’s ongoing marijuana legalization implementation problems by bringing regulators, lawmakers, stakeholders and advocates together for a “fair and productive” policy discussion.
Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D), who was appointed to lead the Senate’s first-ever cannabis panel earlier this year, announced the October 30 hearing during a press conference on Thursday. He said that the purpose of the meeting is to “finally address the many challenges that we have seen with the rollout of adult-use cannabis here in New York.”
Frustrations over New York’s cannabis program have compounded over recent months, as regulators have worked to stand up a market that prioritizes social equity, awarding conditional licenses to people who’ve been most impacted by prohibition. The process has been slow—and illicit cannabis businesses have proliferated in the interim. Meanwhile, lawsuits have temporarily halted licensing, further complicating the issue.
Cooney acknowledged that “it is no secret that the state’s path to adult-use cannabis has been met with a number of challenges,” and he said “one of the most important jobs that we have as state
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