With updates to the marijuana laws in each state changing from year to year, it can be difficult to stay in the loop. We wanted to make things easy for you, so we put together the most recent changes to the New York Marijuana Laws. Take a loser look below!
Status: Mixed
Decriminalized: Reduced
Medical: Yes
New York Fails to Legalize in 2019
After many months of debate on how New York should legalize cannabis, the legislation adjourned in June without a vote on the issue.
Governor Cuomo did call on legislature to legalize marijuana, unfortunately the bill wasn’t included in the state budget in early 2019.
Later in the 2019 session, the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act was introduced, but wasn’t able to build enough momentum in the Senate to receive a vote before the end of the legislation deadline.
Now, the focus is shifting to 2020. Thankfully, the governor and New Yorkers are definitely behind ending prohibition on marijuana.
Bill Signed by Governor to Improve Laws on Decriminalization
In July of 2019 the governor of New York signed the bill A-08420/S-06579. This would fix the decriminalization law in New York, and include auto-expungement starting August 29th.
This bill also reduces the fine from $100 to $50 for possessing up to an ounce of cannabis. This will also eliminate the “public view” convictions that officers used to arrest thousands of New York patrons. Any arrests made for now decriminalized conduct will automatically be expunged.
PTSD Added to the Medical Marijuana Program in New York
In November of 2017 the governor of New York signed a bill into law, which would add PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions within the medical marijuana program. In Addition to PTSD, the Department of Health added in Chronic Pain to the list of conditions. Even if you haven’t taken opioids prior to marijuana, you could still qualify.
With New York on the verge of legalization, there is no doubt that more updates are coming in the months ahead. Stay tuned for changes to the New York Marijuana laws!
