{"id":689,"date":"2021-08-25T23:19:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T23:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CAIiEPF5fjN9Q_hyou_dHTXbv4oqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowhK-LAjD4ySww-9W0BQ"},"modified":"2021-08-25T23:19:03","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T23:19:03","slug":"high-priority-kathy-hochul-vows-to-launch-nys-legal-marijuana-industry-cuomo-stalled-on-new-york-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=689","title":{"rendered":"High priority: Kathy Hochul vows to launch NY&#8217;s legal marijuana industry Cuomo stalled on &#8211; New York Post"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\"> <\/aside>\n<p>Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed that getting New York\u2019s budding marijuana sales program off the ground will be a high priority.<\/p>\n<p>Scandal-scarred ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/03\/31\/gov-cuomo-signs-bill-legalizing-recreational-marijuana-in-ny\/\">approved the law <\/a>back in March that legalized the sale of weed in New York.<\/p>\n<p>But Cuomo \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/07\/25\/lawmakers-question-cuomo-as-he-delays-weed-program\/\">locked in a dispute <\/a>with the state Senate \u2014 didn\u2019t nominate an executive director for the new Office of Cannabis Management or name appointees to the Cannabis Control Board, even though the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act was passed months ago.<\/p>\n<p>The Senate must confirm the appointments.<\/p>\n<p>The appointments are necessary to set up and approve new rules and licensing for firms and employees in the emerging marijuana industry \u2014 from cultivation to sales.<\/p>\n<p>During negotiations over the cannabis appointments, Cuomo was embroiled in a separate spat with the legislature over leadership changes he wanted to make <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/06\/09\/albany-kills-mta-split-leadership-bill-that-tapped-sarah-feinberg-as-first-female-chair\/\">at the MTA<\/a>. He was ticked off after lawmakers blocked legislation to split the top MTA leadership positions into two posts \u2014 and a spokesman even suggested the transit agency appointments and cannabis ones were linked <\/p>\n<p>Hochul on Wednesday promised to clear the logjam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNominating and confirming individuals with diverse experiences and subject matter expertise, who are representative of communities from across the state, to the Cannabis Control Board is a priority for Gov. Hochul,\u201d the new governor\u2019s spokesman, Jordan Bennett, told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe look forward to working with the legislature to keep this process moving forward,\u201d the Hochul rep said.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s more than a token gesture.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/high-priority-kathy-hochul-vows-to-launch-nys-legal-marijuana-industry-cuomo-stalled-on-new-york-post.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-19248042\"><figcaption>Gov. Hochul vows to move forward on New York\u2019s legal marijuana. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/high-priority-kathy-hochul-vows-to-launch-nys-legal-marijuana-industry-cuomo-stalled-on-new-york-post-1.jpg\" alt=\"New York's first medical marijuana dispensaries are opening their doors on Thursday, as the state launches one of the most conservative programs of its kind in the United States.\" class=\"wp-image-19247640\"><figcaption>The sale of weed was legalized in New York in March.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS\/Shannon Stapleton\/File Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hochul has discussed her desire to move on the cannabis appointments with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have spoken about the need to make appointments to the board,\u201d said Mike Murphy, a spokesman for Stewart-Cousins.<\/p>\n<p>Heastie also said that Hochul made clear that implementation of the marijuana program would be a priority during a private meeting he attended with the new governor and Stewart-Cousins on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe did say that that was something that she wanted us all to concentrate on \u2014 and we agreed,\u201d Heastie said.<\/p>\n<p>Under the law, New York will charge a 13 percent excise tax on marijuana sales, with 9 percent going to the state and 4 percent to local governments.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/high-priority-kathy-hochul-vows-to-launch-nys-legal-marijuana-industry-cuomo-stalled-on-new-york-post-2.jpg\" alt=\"Cannabis stickers on a Weed World store window are pictured the day New York State legalized recreational marijuana use amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 31, 2021.\" class=\"wp-image-19247662\"><figcaption>Marijuana sales could create jobs for residents in disadvantaged communities.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS\/Carlo Allegri\/File Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A wholesale tax will be charged based on potency \u2014 a cent per milligram on edibles, eight-tenths of one cent on concentrated cannabis and a half-cent per milligram on flowers or buds.<\/p>\n<p>New York officials estimate that marijuana sales could generate $350 million a year in tax revenue for government coffers and create jobs for residents in disadvantaged communities.<\/p>\n<p>Massachusetts has been selling cannabis at local pot shops since the fall of 2018 \u2014 with many customers crossing the border from upstate New York.<\/p>\n<p>New Jersey and Connecticut also recently passed laws legalizing the sale of marijuana for recreational use and are moving to set up rules for the new industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed that getting New York\u2019s budding marijuana sales program off the ground will be a high priority. Scandal-scarred ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature approved the law back in March that legalized the sale of weed in New York. But Cuomo \u2014 locked in a dispute with the state Senate \u2014 didn\u2019t nominate an executive director for the new Office of Cannabis Management or name appointees to the Cannabis Control Board, even though the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act was passed months ago. The Senate must confirm the appointments. The appointments are necessary to set up&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/high-priority-kathy-hochul-vows-to-launch-nys-legal-marijuana-industry-cuomo-stalled-on-new-york-post-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}