New York State is set to legalize and regulate cannabis for adult-use, and improve our existing medical marijuana and hemp programs by April 1st with the 2020-2021 NYS Budget. But our work isn’t over yet and we need to fight for SMART legalization now more than ever!
Read MoreNew York: An Analysis of Governor Cuomo’s Legalization Proposal
/Governor Andrew Cuomo has included a plan to “regulate, restrict, and control” the responsible adult use of cannabis in New York, known as the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act (“CRTA”). A complex and comprehensive plan laid out in over 200 pages of legislative text, the CRTA would implement one of the most tightly regulated, highly taxed and heavily controlled legal cannabis markets in the world.
Read MoreBusiness as usual in New York, cannabis continues to be decriminalized
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New York - The New York State Senate and Assembly passed legislation (S.6579A/A.8420A), to continue decriminalizing cannabis in our state. The bill lowers the fines associated with possessing small amounts of cannabis, under 2 ounces, to be up to $200. This bill also introduces a retroactive expungement mechanism into our criminal justice system, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands.
This “decriminalization” bill that is currently waiting for the Governor to sign into law, does nothing to end arrests for cannabis possession. Instead, the bill reduces penalties for public use and burning to a violation that can still ultimately lead to arrest. Cannabis was decriminalized by New York in 1977, and yet millions of people have been arrested since then and we became the cannabis arrest capital of the country.
Rest Assured Doug Greene
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It is with tremendous sorrow to share that our beloved Douglas Greene, Legislative Director, Board Member and Lifetime Member of Empire State NORML, passed away under tragic circumstances on June 4, 2019.
Doug was a prolific longtime activist in the cannabis community, and dedicated decades of his life to many social causes. From ending the war on drugs and legalizing ibogaine to animal rights and veganism, he was a tenacious advocate always fighting for what he believed in.
Read MoreGroundbreaking educational series to challenge Facebook’s policies toward cannabis-related content and information.
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Groundbreaking educational series to challenge Facebook’s policies toward cannabis-related content and information.
May 15, 2019 - The Cannaramic Online Summit, the first online series designed to provide education and information to communities nationwide as cannabis legalization progresses, has drafted a complaint and intends to file a federal lawsuit against social media giant Facebook.
The complaint outlines a pattern of censorship and suppression of information and content pertaining to legal uses of cannabis across Facebook’s platform as well as that of the popular social media app, Instagram, also owned by Facebook.
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