New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of “recreational” adult-use of cannabis in November 2020. Canada and fifteen states in the United States have now legalized cannabis. New York State may follow suit in 2021. Governor Cuomo has been advocating for legalization for adult use for quite some time. Now that Democrats have a supermajority in the New York State Assembly a bill may become law in 2021. Governor Cuomo’s goal is to raise important tax revenue for the State and allow communities of color to receive the benefit of jobs and licenses to cultivate, distribute and sell cannabis. State tax revenues are expected to exceed $300,000,000 per year. Legal marijuana sales are projected to reach $22 billion by 2022 and as of 2020, there are 243,700 legal, full-time cannabis industry jobs.
The criteria/requirements for obtaining a license from the State of New York to cultivate, process, distribute or sell cannabis retail are quite onerous. Applicants would be wise to start planning early and consult an experienced attorney in order to get a head start on navigating the cannabis license application process.
For more information about our New York cannabis business and related practice areas, please contact us at (914) 338-8050.
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The Law Offices of Keith R. Betensky, Esq.
The Empire Building
26 Village Green, Suite 4
P.O. Box 22
Bedford, New York 10506-0022
(914) 338-8050
keith@betenskylaw.com
www.betenskylaw.com