ocm enforcement

New York Office of Cannabis Management Gets New Enforcement Powers

New York State’s recently passed 2024 budget includes many cannabis-related provisions, addressing enforcement, licensure, and penalties, with the goal of curbing the state’s illicit marijuana market. Specifically, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation granting the state Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”) certain enforcement powers. Enforcement tools at OCM Several of the new enforcement tools at OCM’s enforcement

new york cannabis variscite

New York Cannabis: The Variscite Injunction is Lifted

The news tricked out slowly, then all at once: New York has settled the Variscite litigation, and the injunction prohibiting Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses in the Finger Lakes region has been lifted. The settlement was approved during the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) meeting on May 30, 2023, paving the way for new CAURD

new york provisional license

New York Cannabis: The Provisional License and Real Estate

As we noted in our summary of the big Cannabis Control Board meeting on May 11, 2023, one significant revision to the New York adult-use rules and regulations was the creation of the “provisional license.” This mechanism allows applicants to be provisionally licensed without having secured real estate prior to submitting an application. Provisional licensing

cannabis farmers market

New York Announces Cannabis Farmers’ Markets

New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced they plan to allow conditional cultivators and retailers to organize and sell weed at farmers’ markets this summer. Hopefully, these cannabis farmers’ markets could help unclog New York’s legal weed supply chain. During a meeting with the Cannabis Association of New York, OCM Director of Policy John Kagia told

new york true party of interest

New York Cannabis: The New True Party of Interest Rule

New York’s release of the revised adult-use rules and regulations has been well-publicized. A key revision that was the source of significant speculation was whether the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and Cannabis Control Board (CCB) would revise the True Party of Interest (TPI) definition with respect to ancillary service providers and the monetary limits

cannabis legislation

New York’s Legislation to Curb Illicit Cannabis Sales

As foreshadowed by our recent post, on May 3, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed cannabis legislation that significantly increases the civil and tax penalties for unlicensed and illicit cannabis sales. The legislation was passed in conjunction with New York budget for the 2024 fiscal year. So what’s included in the new cannabis legislation?

ddt

Pesticide “DDT” Derivative Found in Several WA Cannabis Products

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“WSLCB”) sent an alert on Thursday, April 6, notifying cannabis licensees of a pattern of pesticide testing failures in Okanogan County. The WSLCB detected several instances of products containing dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (“DDE”) through random pesticide testing and many exceed action levels. The WSLCB is taking the following immediate action

environmental plan

New York Cannabis: Energy and Environmental Plans

Since the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) was passed back in April of 2021, New York has made clear that mitigating environmental impact, including energy usage, would be a key component of New York’s adult-use cannabis industry. To wit, the legislators expressly included applicants’ “ability to mitigate adverse environmental impacts, including but not limited

new york cannabis tax

New York Cannabis: Potential Tax Changes

As New York moves steadily closer to a fully rolled out adult-use cannabis industry, two New York state legislators recently proposed legislation that would significantly simplify the tax structure for adult-use cannabis. Under the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), New York would have charged a potency THC tax on all adult-use cannabis, plus an