BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
A week after her Aug. 24
appointment, New York Gov.
Kathy Hochul, a Democrat,
wasted no time in prioritizing
New York’s legal cannabis
market when she fi lled
two key positions on the
state’s newly-created Cannabis
Control Board, a decision
that had been delayed and
stalled under her disgraced
predecessor Andrew Cuomo.
The board will be instrumental
in overseeing the rollout
of what will eventually
be one of the country’s largest
and most lucrative recreational
marijuana programs
— New York’s Marijuana
Regulation and Taxation Act
(MRTA) — including creating
regulations and granting
licenses to dealers.
The New York Legislature
confi rmed two Black leaders
to run the state’s newly
created Cannabis Control
Board: Chris Alexander, a
former staffer at The Drug
Policy Alliance, will be executive
director of the Offi ce
of Cannabis Management
(OCM), while former Brooklyn
Assemblywoman Tremaine
Wright, a Democrat,
will serve as chair.
“There is no reason why
simple announcements in
terms of who the executive
director is and who the chairperson
is were not done in
time, but I’m going to make
up for that lost time and I
want those decisions made,”
said Hochul, who appointed
Wright and Alexander.
Before his resignation,
Cuomo had faced criticism as
negotiations with lawmakers
on potential appointments
stalled.
One of the big pushes by
MRTA and cannabis justice
advocates for anyone appointed
to the board was a
prior experience in the cannabis
industry and an understanding
of racial disparities
in cannabis enforcement.
“When it comes to who
we want on that board and
who we want to regulate this
unique cannabis industry, I
think experience in the cannabis
industry and understanding
of the social equity
aspect of MRTA is vital,” Melissa
Moore, New York State
director at the Drug Policy
Alliance, told the Bronx
Times before Hochul’s appointments
in September.
And that is why Democrat
Sen. Diane Savino, of Staten
Island, called Hochul’s appointment
of Wright “mystifying”
during the confi rmation
hearing before the state
Senate Finance Committee
earlier this month.
“I’m somewhat mystifi ed
as to why the governor decided
to put in charge of the
cannabis board a person who
has no experience in cannabis,”
said Savino, who helped
draft New York’s medical
marijuana law, which passed
in 2014.
But Wright and Alexander
are in, and they will be
overseeing a cannabis industry
that has been valued at
$4.6 billion and could grow to
$5.8 billion over the next fi ve
years, according to a study
by the New York Medical
Cannabis Industry Association.
New York is one of 16
states that have passed legislation
to legalize recreational
use, with many aspects
of the law taking effect
immediately. As a result of
marijuana legalization in
New York:
Retail cannabis sales are
expected to begin in 2022.
The New York Governor’s
Offi ce expects the industry
to create 30,000-60,000 jobs
and collect $350 million in
annual tax revenue.
BRONX TIMES R 8 EPORTER, OCT. 1-7, 2021 BTR
New York is expected to
generate about $3.7 billion in
sales by 2025, which is about
half of what California is expected
to generate that year,
New Frontier Data says.
OCM will be charged with
issuing licenses for businesses
to participate in the
adult-use, medical and cannabinoid
hemp industries.
In addition to making
sure that the state’s cannabis
policy benefi ts communities
that were disproportionately
harmed by pot prohibition,
primarily through reinvesting
40% percent of sales tax
on weed, the board will also
be in charge of handing out
licenses to commercial growers.
To begin accepting applications
for the adult-use program,
the OCM will need to
issue and implement regulations
establishing the application
process for different
license types.
New Yorkers will be able
to obtain licensure for cannabis
production, testing,
retail, nursery, onsite consumption,
microbusiness
and delivery.
“I think that’s a major
step in this process,” said
Khalid Sharif, a Bronx-born
marijuana grower and advocate.
“There’s money to be
made in this industry, we
have proof of that. But what
affects growers and the ability
of NYC’s marijuana industry
to be more than just
Silicon Valley for weed — is
who are the rules intended to
benefi t.”
Under MRTA, the OCM is
expected to actively promote
social and economic equity
applicants who have been
harmed by the prohibition
of cannabis for adult-use licenses,
establishing a goal of
awarding 50% of licenses to
social and economic equity
With appointments
fi nal, the work for
NYC’s cannabis
board begins
This is Part 2 of a three-part series by the Bronx Times looking
at the potential benefi ts New York State’s legalization of marijuana,
known as the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act,
could have on the Bronx.