image: Cheryl Green

by Nick Reisman New York State | 2:43 PM ET Mar. 24, 2021
Editorial: Cheryl Green

New York officials have reached an agreement to legalize cannabis products for adult use and allow residents to maintain a limited number of marijuana plants in their homes, a source confirmed Wednesday.

A final bill could be voted on by state lawmakers as early as next week.

The three-way agreement between state lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s office fulfills a push from criminal justice reform advocates to legalize marijuana in the state over the last several years following a full Democratic takeover of the state Legislature.

Lawmakers on Wednesday afternoon were finalizing the bill’s language. 

The measure is also a significant victory for a growing cannabis industry in the country, which is expected to generate billions of dollars in economic activity in the coming years in New York alone.

Supporters of the marijuana legalization push, however, wanted to ensure the program would include benefits for communities disproportionately affected by harsher drug sentencing laws as well as limit the influence of major businesses seeking to enter the new sector of the economy.

The agreement reached by lawmakers includes stipulations that would encourage small businesses to be able to set up shop. The agreement also includes a social equity fund that is meant to divert some of the revenue generated by marijuana sales to job placement and after school programs.

State lawmakers had worked for three years to reach an agreement for marijuana legalization, following smaller states like New Jersey and Massachusetts that border New York. At issue for some lawmakers were concerns over traffic safety and impaired driving. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins indicated this week that had been a final roadblock to an agreement.

Law enforcement and parent organizations had opposed the measure over safety concerns as well as the potential for children to access it.

Source: Spectrum News

For the cannabis beauty industry, this means an easier way to go when it comes to more states opening up for distribution to expand the pool of retailers to carry CBD products.

Some beauty brands dodged this problem completely by simply using the word “hemp”. 

The problem with that, is some brands do not have CBD in them but have hemp seed oil, which is not the same and does not have the same health and beauty benefits as CBD. This is why on the consumer end, it’s always best to check the product label before buying a product where you think you are paying for CBD which is more expensive that hemp seed oil. The CBD brands on the other hand, will have access to more retailers and can proudly have “CBD” clearly labelled or even featured on their products and not have to worry about the previous advertising limitations and retail opportunities as more and more states are easing up where eventually, the entire country will allow CBD to merely be just another ingredient listed on their product. CBD being a Super Hero ingredient in that it can address more than one issue usually, depending on the formulation, makes it a higher value product for the consumer.