New York regulators released a preview on proposed rules for adult home-grown marijuana. The state Cannabis Control Board will be formally considering the plan at a Wednesday meeting.
The proposal comes more than one year after retail sales of adult-use marijuana began in New York. It would allow adults to cultivate up to three mature cannabis plants and three immature ones, but no more than six mature and six immature plant per private residence.
Adults could keep up to 5 pounds of marijuana from their legal plants, or equivalent weight if it is converted into concentrates. The combined weight of flower and concentrates could not exceed that equivalent amount.
Adults can currently possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana, and up 24 grams of concentrates including edibles and oil.
According to an Office of Cannabis Management preview, plants grown under proposed regulations must be stored in a safe place “that is not clearly visible to the public” and in such a way that “prevents loss, theft or access by residents under 21.” Homegrown marijuana could only be used for personal consumption and not sold. However, cannabis can currently be shared among adults as long as the amount is below legal possession limits.
OCM will continue to work with New York municipalities to provide support and guidance in this area.
New Yorkers who have more than one home could only cultivate on a single location under the proposed regulations.
Since October 2022, home cultivation by certified medical marijuana patients or designated caregivers is legal in the state, just before the start of adult-use retail sales that December. In 2021, the state passed a cannabis legalization bill that mandated adult-use homegrow to be launched within 18 months after the first retail sale of recreational marijuana.
The proposed regulation would allow adults to buy immature immature seeds from state-licensed cannabis retail stores, microbusinesses, and vertically integrated registered organisations with dispensing.
Businesses would be required to hold active nursery registration certificates issued by the Department of Agriculture and Markets of their state. Plants sold would also need to bear labels indicating strain name, harvest date, warning labels to keep plants out of reach of children, and any other necessary information.
The municipalities could not prohibit adult marijuana growers from doing so, but they can adopt laws to “reasonably” regulate homegrow. The preview states that adults who live on U.S. bases or in federally-subsidized housing could not grow marijuana at home. “Cannabis is still illegal federally and they could risk losing their housing” if home cultivation was allowed.
Multi-unit building regulations could be complicated. According to a preview of the proposed regulation, co-ops, condos, and landlords can decide whether they want to implement a general odor-mitigation policy that could affect adult-use home cultivation, in compliance with local and state municipal laws, rules, and ordinances.
The preview doesn’t explicitly say that home cultivation in multi-unit building could be banned outright. Instead, it states: “Landlords and co-ops cannot prohibit residents from having cannabis in their private homes unless doing so would put federal benefits at risk for said housing units.”
CCB members will vote on the proposed rules Wednesday. A 60-day period for public comments would then begin. OCM will then submit the final regulations to CCB if no significant changes were made as a result public feedback. If there are major changes, then a revised proposal will be followed by 45 days of public comments.
A press release from OCM stated that “in New York State, it could take anywhere between six and twelve months from the initial proposal to final approval for regulatory packages such as these.”
Comments on the proposed regulations, OCM said, can be sent to regulations@ocm.ny.gov or mailed to New York State Office of Cannabis Management, P.O. Box 2071, Albany NY 12220. The office also has published tips that are “designed to help you submit an effective comment that best explains your views and will improve the proposed regulation on which you’re commenting,” according to the release.
In the first week of this month, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), a Democrat, called on legislators to repeal state’s THC Potency Tax and replace it by a wholesale excise duty of 9 percent. She aimed to reduce costs for the consumers and simplify reporting obligations to make licensed businesses more competive against illicit operators.
OCM also released its latest annual report on the marijuana industry, as well as two separate documents that focused on equity and enforcement against unlicensed operators.
This report was released just days after OCM provided with a snapshot of the first year of legal cannabis sales in the state. The OCM report highlighted that more than 3.5 millions cannabis products were purchased by consumers during 2023. Total sales are expected to surpass $150 million. The state has seized approximately $56 million worth of illegal marijuana products in its enforcement of unlicensed marijuana activities. The state also conducted 369 “enforcement checks” on illicit operations.
A bill introduced in the Assembly earlier this month would give local governments the authority to close down cannabis businesses that are not licensed and seize the products.
It says that the budget proposal of the governor also includes legislation that allows state and local officials “to seal or padlock a cannabis business without a license,” as it states. The budget also “provides more staff resources to Department of Taxation and Finance in order to support these expanded enforcement efforts.”
New York regulators have begun processing hundreds of marijuana license applications. In December, over a dozen cannabis retailers opened after a settlement agreement lifted an injunction which had imposed months-long licensing blocks.
The governor stated that his top priority was to expand the legal cannabis industry in New York while cracking down the illegal storefronts which continue to plague the communities.
The state’s Department of Labor also published sample job descriptions for various positions within the legal cannabis industry last month. Officials said that the samples were intended to streamline the hiring process and to allow potential employees to evaluate their qualifications in order to work in different roles in the emerging cannabis sector.
Hochul signed a separate bill in November to provide tax relief to New York City marijuana businesses that are currently blocked from making federal deductions under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. She also signed a bill to give tax relief to New York City cannabis businesses who are currently barred from taking federal deductions due to an Internal Revenue Service code called 280E.
New York City’s tax laws were not affected by the change in Hochul’s budget bill of 2022, which included provisions allowing state-level cannabis businesses tax deductions. This new measure is intended to close that policy gap.
Hochul vetoed a bill that would have allowed Hemp seeds to be added to animal feeds for horses, pets and camelids like llamas or alpacas.
In September, about 66 state legislators–roughly a third the state legislature as a whole–also sent Hochul an email urging her to sign a law that would allow licensed cannabis producers to sell their products to tribal retailers. This plan will allow cannabis farmers to release surpluses that they currently have but are unable to sell. Hochul vetoed the bill last month.
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The article New York Officials to Vote on Marijuana Home Cultivation Regulations This Week first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
