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Like most countries around the world, the U.S. also recognizes the failure and damage of cannabis prohibition. In the U.S. -- where the sector continues to grow and is hiring workers from other sectors that remain unemployed -- analysts are comparing the cannabis industry to what manufacturing was until the 1990s: the great driver of full-time employment for the middle class. Indeed, legalizations implemented around the world still have little to do with social justice and human rights other than the business that this legal market can bring: billions being taken out of the pockets of criminals to be returned to both states and citizens. It is estimated that the global legal cannabis market -- i.e. the total sales of medical and recreational cannabis -- could reach an exceptional $51 billion by 2025. However, some American states (notably New York and Massachusetts) are now emerging to stand out in terms of regulatory frameworks from a 'social equity' perspective, and these states are aiming to pave the way for a social and ethnic justice model in cannabis policy reform.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the state's first cannabis licenses will be awarded to people with prior marijuana convictions or their relatives, by virtue of being particularly affected by the strict drug laws in place before the legalization of marijuana (which occurred on April 1, 2020). In America, drugs are the number one cause of arrest. Harsh policies to combat drug use and drug dealing started in the 1970s, when then-President Nixon declared that "the number one enemy of the United States is drug abuse."
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last Thursday that cannabis regulation is part of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative program, which aims to have 50% of retail and distribution business licenses issued to New York applicants under the 'social equity' regime, i.e. individuals who are recognized as having been particularly targeted by the previous law, such as people with prior marijuana convictions or their relatives, as well as those living in economically distressed areas or places where criminalization has been applied in a discriminatory manner. The group of candidates to enter the preferential regime would also include businesses owned by minority and/or female individuals, disabled veterans, and financially distressed farmers.
"We won't be the first, but our program will be the best," former Governor Cuomo declared about the politics of cannabis regulation during the April 1 conference. Most states that have approved marijuana legalization have banned people with drug offenses from entering the legal market. "New York State is making history by launching a unique approach to the cannabis industry that takes an important step forward in righting the wrongs of the past," Governor Hochul said in a statement.
On Thursday, the New York State Cannabis Control Board voted unanimously to propose regulations to allow the first 200 retail licenses to be granted to people who have been convicted of marijuana-related offenses. Applications for the priority licenses are expected to open in summer 2022. The first licenses are expected to be distributed by early fall 2022, with sales launching by the end of the year.
During a press conference, Chris Alexander, the executive director of the state's Office of Cannabis Management, admitted that New York has taken its time to launch its legal market for adult-use cannabis, "but that's because we hope to do it right." Alexander continued, "We are taking the hardest road, which no other American state has taken so far. Instead of opening up our market with the same existing players who are dominating the cannabis sector in the United States, we have decided to put those who have been most affected by the crackdown at the center of the New York market."
Alexander says there are many potential candidates, as the state has arrested more than a million people in the past 20 years for marijuana-related offenses. Applicants must have convictions prior to the enactment of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, signed into law on March 31, 2021 by former Governor Cuomo. Applicants who at the time had a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse or dependent convicted of a marijuana offense are also eligible. Senator Liz Krueger (a Manhattan Democrat), who has fought for seven years alongside Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (a Buffalo Democrat) to pass the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, says that "ensuring that people get out of the illegal cannabis market is one of the most important goals of New York's program."
New York's legal cannabis market will be one of the largest in the United States and is estimated to reach a turnover of $4.2 billion by 2027. Given the opportunities presented by the emerging marijuana industry, many entrepreneurs have decided not to wait for licenses, and New York State is currently home to a vibrant gray market for cannabis operating outdoors: from 'cannabis clubs' on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan to buses parked on the street converted into cannabis stores in the Harlem neighborhood. Meanwhile, however, legalization is advancing swiftly.
In late February, Governor Hochul signed a bill allowing New York hemp farmers to grow marijuana. These farmers will provide the product to 'social equity' dispensaries. On Thursday, the Cannabis Control Board approved the application for conditional licenses for both adult growers and farmers, who can apply by March 15.
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes of New York said the state's approach focuses on righting the wrongs of the war on drugs. "New York State is doing what no other state has done before: focusing on the people most criminalized by cannabis prohibition and promoting New York's growers," Peoples-Stokes said in a statement. "The cannabis industry will grow our economy and create new wealth, and it is imperative that we make sure opportunities start with the most deserving New Yorkers"
Cannabis products would be subject to a 9% state tax, plus an additional 4% local tax. There would also be a distribution tax based on the amount of THC in flowers, concentrates and edibles, applied on a scale that varies by product type, up to 3 cents per milligram.
While Canada has beaten the United States in establishing a fully legal domestic market, the 38 U.S. states that have legalized medical or recreational use for adults have a population 6 times larger than Canada's. In the coming years, the legal market opportunity in the United States alone will represent the lion's share of overall legal demand. With key states (particularly New York) poised to begin sales for adult use in 2022, the United States looks set to remain the driving force in retail product innovation, new consumer experiences, and cannabis culture globally.
All this is happening while Republican Nancy Pelosi has proposed what is the third bill that would lead to federal legalization in the U.S., ending problems with access to credit for businesses and transportation and logistics. If federal legalization were to come during this year, then U.S. cannabis market, already leading the way globally, would no longer have the restraints that have limited its growth to date.
Cannabis dispensaries represent a novelty that emerged after the legalization of cannabis in U.S. states such as California, Colorado, Washington, Nevada and others. Almost all dispensaries operate like a pharmacy: the customer enters, is served by the budtender, and carries their purchases away in a bag. In some California dispensaries, buyers are allowed to consume cannabis on the premises, but these are only exceptions. In most American states where marijuana is legal (such as Colorado, Nevada, and Washington), consuming cannabis in public places is prohibited.
Like Amsterdam's coffeeshops, dispensaries offer a variety of atmospheres, services, prices, and products. Some dispensaries are designed specifically for medicinal users and therefore offer different services than dispensaries that cater only to recreational users. There are also facilities that cater to both types of customers and use separate outlets for therapeutic and recreational products.
Can cannabis products be sold in New York? Clarification of the state of the cannabis market in America [September 2022]
https://www.exportusa.eu/cannabis-sale-new-york.php