The New York State Senate late Wednesday confirmed Governor Hochul’s appointments to lead the agencies that will regulate cannabis sales in New York, giving a major boost to the legalization process that had stalled under former Governor Cuomo.
Tremaine Wright was confirmed as chairperson of the Cannabis Control Board and Christopher Alexander was confirmed as the executive director of the new Office of Cannabis Management, which were formed as part of a bill that legalized recreational use of marijuana in New York this spring.
Wright is a former Democratic assemblywoman and Alexander is government relations and policy manager at the Canada-based cannabis company, Vill, LLC.
Four additional members still need to be named to the Cannabis Control Board by Governor Hochul and legislative leaders; however, the appointees do not need to be approved by lawmakers. The CCB will among other things.be the regulatory body responsible for awarding the various cannabis licenses in the State as well promulgating the necessary regulations to implement the legislation adopted earlier this year.
Governor Hochul called the legislature back for a special session Wednesday to deal with the cannabis appointments, along with other matters. Industry players are hopefully that these appointments will help jump start the New York cannabis industry.
The growing and sale of recreational marijuana, which was legalized as part of the state’s $212 billion budget deal for fiscal 2022, is expected to generate as much as $350 million a year in revenues for the state.