October 2021 – Cannabis Industry

October 29, 2021November 15, 2021 by Duane Morris

Tremaine Wright presents to the NYSSCPA Cannabis Committee

By Hugh Jacobsen

Tremaine Wright, the Chairwoman of the Cannabis Control Board of the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), on October 28, 2021 gave a presentation to the Cannabis Committee of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants on various items relating to cannabis regulation in New York.

At this presentation, Ms. Wright went over various features of the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act. She noted that there will be preference to individuals and communities injured by the War on Drugs and reiterated the goal of the legislation to ensure that at least 50% of the licenses go to social equity applicants. She noted that there are nine different types of licenses provided in the statute and that vertical integration will generally be prohibited. However, New York will take steps so that micro businesses will not have to raise as much capital that would be required by other entities. In addition, there is no consideration currently being given to a residency requirement for obtaining a license. In response to a question on capital requirement, she did note that she had heard that people were spending over a $1 million to open up a retail dispensary, and she thought it could be done for less. She also encouraged the industry to provide more education so that people do not enter into significant financial commitments (such as rent) earlier than necessary. Continue reading “Tremaine Wright presents to the NYSSCPA Cannabis Committee”

October 21, 2021October 22, 2021 by Duane Morris

NYS Cannabis Control Board Meeting Summary 10/21/21

The New York State (“NYS”) Cannabis Control Board (the “Board”) held its second public meeting earlier today, just 16 days after its inaugural meeting on October 5^th. The meeting was livestreamed to the general public with all Board Members (Tremaine Wright (Chair), Jessica Garcia, Jen Metzger, Rueben McDaniel and Adam Perry (attending virtually)), the Executive Director (Chris Alexander) and Chief Equity Officer (Jason Starr) in attendance.

Chairwoman Wright summarized the Board’s work since its last meeting including (1) its ongoing employment efforts (both new hires and the transition of existing NYS Department of Health staff), (2) the Board’s outreach to key NYS stakeholders (including visits to various cultivation and processing facilities), and (3) continued work on the creation of implementing regulations as required by the NYS Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (the “MRTA”).

Executive Director Alexander introduced the key features of newly proposed Medical Cannabis Home Cultivation Regulations. The Board approved the submission of these draft regulations to the Office of Cannabis Management (the “OCM”) for publication on the OCM website, upon which a four month public review and comment period will commence. In a nutshell, these new regulations will permit home cultivation (indoor or outdoor) of a limited number of cannabis plants (six in total, with some exceptions) by certified patients and their designated caregivers for personal medical use. These regulations are not intended to permit home cultivation for adult recreational use.

Executive Director Alexander also presented an update on the Expungement and Criminal Justice efforts undertaken by NYS in accordance with the requirements of the MRTA. Those efforts, to eradicate criminal records related to marijuana usage, are ongoing and must be completed by March 31, 2023.

Finally, the Executive Director summarized the Municipal Opt-Out Program under which municipalities may opt-out of (prohibit) adult-use dispensaries and/or on-site consumption licenses from operating within their jurisdiction (however, they cannot opt-out out of other license types or adult-use legalization itself). Local laws “opting-out” must be passed by December 31, 2021. Municipalities that opt-out may opt-back-in at any time. Municipalities that opt-out will not receive any revenue from the local excise tax on the sale of adult-use products.

The Board has not yet scheduled its next public meeting but the time and livestream link for that meeting will be posted on the OCM website in advance of the meeting. Chairwoman Wright suggested the public sign-up to receive updates from the OCM, which will include notices of all future Board meetings. The sign-up page for the OCM can be found here: https://cannabis.ny.gov/sign_up_for_updates_from_OCM

Summary drafted by Michael Schwamm, Jerome Levy, Michael Barz and Erensu Altan.

October 11, 2021October 12, 2021 by Michael D. Schwamm

Notes from New York Cannabis Control Board Meeting, October 2021

By Michael D. Schwamm and Joy Karugu

There were several outcomes of the inaugural New York Cannabis Control Board (CCB) Meeting held on October 5, 2021. The Meeting revealed that the CCB and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) will be increasing their staff and taking steps to extend the medical cannabis program and cannabinoid hemp licensing. Also during the Meeting, Jason Starr was announced and voted in as the Chief Equity Officer of the OCM. He will work with Executive Director Chris Alexander in building New York’s social equity program. Continue reading “Notes from New York Cannabis Control Board Meeting, October 2021”

October 5, 2021 by Duane Morris

Michael Schwamm to Be Panelist at Arcview Town Hall: Massachusetts

Duane Morris partner Michael Schwamm will be a panelist at Arcview’s virtual event, Town Hall: Massachusetts, on October 14, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET.

Massachusetts’ cannabis industry has surpassed $2B in sales, has issued 900+ licenses, and employed more than 16K people in less than three years. Find out what’s behind Massachusetts’s success and what comes next for the commonwealth’s cannabis industry.

For more information, please visit the event website.