New York Creates Workgroup for Regulated Adult-Use Marijuana

August 20, 2018

This post is written in connection with my colleague Vanessa Bongiorno’s recent post, where she eloquently summarized the New York Department of Health’s (“DOH”) findings of the multi-agency study on the impact of regulated adult-use marijuana in New York.

In the report, DOH found that even though marijuana use does contain risks, there are benefits associated with implementing a regulated adult-use marijuana program, including positive impacts on New York’s criminal justice system and an alternative to opioid use, which has long impacted so many New Yorkers and their families. The DOH report concluded with, among other things, a recommendation that New York establishes a workgroup of subject matter professionals with relevant public health experience to debate the details of a regulated marijuana program and offer solutions consistent with reducing harm and educating the public.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo accepted the recommendation and recently announced the creation of a workgroup to help draft legislation for regulated adult-use marijuana, which will be overseen by Alphonso David, an advisor to the Governor. The workgroup consists of professors of major New York educational institutions, law enforcement representatives, governmental stakeholders, and mental health experts, to name a few. A full list of workgroup members can be found here.

Speaking on the development, Governor Cuomo stated “[t]he next steps must be taken thoughtfully and deliberately. As we work to implement the report’s recommendation through legislation, we must thoroughly consider all aspects of a regulated marijuana program, including its impact on public health, criminal justice and State revenue, and mitigate any potential risks associated with it.”

It is abundantly clear that New York is serious about adopting a regulated marijuana program. While the details of such program are beginning to be hashed out, New York’s long anticipated debate over regulated adult-use marijuana appears to be coming to a resolution.