New York state Senator Jeremy Cooney has introduced a bill aimed at revitalizing the state’s underperforming medicinal cannabis industry and strengthening the emerging adult-use cannabis market.
Amid a slow launch of businesses this year, Cooney’s proposed legislation would empower medical cannabis operators to transition to the adult-use sector, thus enabling increased funding. The bill also calls for an expanded state Cannabis Advisory Board, incorporating representatives from retail, patients, service-disabled veterans, and supply tier workers.
The proposal comes on the back of state regulators’ plan to permit medicinal cannabis companies to move to the adult-use market by year’s end.
This initiative was in response to increasing fines and penalties for illegal cannabis sales introduced in May. The aim of these measures is to address challenges in New York’s cannabis sector, ranging from the thriving illegal market and limited processing capacity to insufficient capital for social equity retailers.
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