in March, setting off a gold rush for companies looking to take advantage of the potentially $7 billion market in the US's financial capital.in the state's medical market, and the companies that own each license will look to quickly transition from New York's relatively limited medical market to the recreational market.
Since New York's cannabis bill was signed into law, Peoples-Stokes has provided recommendations for who should serve on the two bodies that will oversee cannabis regulation, the Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board, according to Leah M. Halton-Pope, senior advisor to Peoples-Stokes.
"I will be closely watching the roll-out of the adult-use program, making sure that all new and existing partners in the cannabis supply chain benefit from this expansion," Lupardo told Insider in an email. Cooney worked with lawmakers and advocates to build support for the MRTA, according to Matthew Moll, his chief of staff. A prime focus of the senator's efforts was around social equity and justice, said Moll.
"No staffing decisions have been made yet, but both [Bernabe and Birenbaum] will have a hand in shaping the regulatory structure and working with OCM and the Cannabis Control and Advisory Boards," they continued.Norman Birenbaum, Director of Cannabis Programs at State of New YorkBirenbaum joined Cuomo's administration in December 2019 to oversee the state's hemp and medical programs and to implement an adult-use program.
The association pushed to ensure that small farmers would have access to licenses in New York's adult-use cannabis market. According to Gandelman, the association provided feedback to lawmakers and fought for language to ensure that"distressed farmers" would be included as social equity applicants under the new law. New York's new cannabis law has a goal of 50% of licenses going to social equity applicants.
Abebe and the association pushed to pass cannabis legalization in New York and ensure that the bill would include provisions to expand and upgrade the state's medical program, according to Liz Benjamin, a spokesperson for the organization. The DPA has pushed to end cannabis-related arrests and worked to assemble the Start SMART NY coalition, which pushed to establish an adult-use cannabis program that focused on racial justice, social equity, and community reinvestment.
Empire State NORML was one of the main advocacy organizations that pushed for home cultivation, on-site consumption lounges, and robust protections against discrimination for consumers, according to Smit. The organization also advocated to make flower products available for medical patients, for automatic expungement of criminal records, and for funding of social justice initiatives through cannabis legalization.
Morón has worked closely with activists and organizations to push for legalization in New York over the past few years. She says that she and Cristina Buccula, a cannabis attorney, had a hand in reviewing the language proposed in Cuomo's legalization bill and worked to highlight the distinctions between that bill and the New York State Legislature-backed bill, especially in regards to social equity provisions and community reinvestment.
Morón is also on the board for Minorities for Medical Marijuana, Advisory Board for the Cannabis World Congress Business Expo and a member of the Start-SMART Coalition.Mattio built her public relations, marketing, and investor-relations firm from a one-woman shop in Seattle to a midtown New York City office with over 38 employees. Among her 55 clients are big New York City cannabis firms like Ayr Wellness and Ascend Wellness.
Wild has also taken over from Jason Ackerman as the executive chairman at TerrAscend, a cannabis company with operations in New Jersey and other states. "As New Yorkers who have spent the past seven years since New York launched its medical program building one of the largest investment ecosystems in the world, we are excited to finally bring our experience home to build a comprehensive platform to what should be the second-largest market in the US," Baruchowitz told Insider in an email.Curaleaf
"I am thrilled to see that the NY bill, including its specific tax proposals, testing regulations, and vertical integration guidelines, has provisions that support social equity and economic opportunity aimed at creating a fair, safe, and well-regulated market." Ascend Wellness Holdings