Governor Cuomo emphasized the need for New York to study marijuana and its effects, as well as the economic boon legalization could provide.

Governor Andrew Cuomo vowed in 2019 that New York would legalize adult-use marijuana, but the campaign fell apart in the state Senate when legislators couldn’t agree on social justice equity programs and tax revenue proposals. In his State of the State address this week, however, Cuomo assured 2020 will be the year the Empire State legalizes recreational cannabis.

Cuomo emphasized the need to legalize marijuana in order to combat disproportionate racial profiling in enforcing marijuana laws, as well as create criminal justice reform in healing the wounds caused by the nation’s war on drugs.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday pledged for the second year in a row to legalize recreational marijuana, looking for his state to become the nation's 12th to do so and saying that it could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Cuomo, a Democrat, made the legalization of cannabis a key priority as he outlined his agenda for 2020, saying taxes imposed by a regulatory scheme could bring some $300 million into the state's coffers and confront injustices in enforcement of drug laws.

An audit by the Office of the New York State Comptroller of the state’s industrial hemp program found a number of issues of concern.

The objective of the audit was to determine if the Department of Agriculture and Markets was adequately administering New York’s hemp program in accordance with federal and State requirements.

In short, it appears it hasn’t – or at least wasn’t.

The audit covered the period April 1, 2016 through May 31, 2019. Releasing the results six months after the fact doesn’t really give an accurate picture of what may be happening now, but the Department was made aware of the issues earlier on in the year and supported recommendations made by the Comptroller.

The cannabis advocacy community wants the nation to believe that 2019 was a banner year in the realm of marijuana reform. But the only things that really happened were that New York and New Jersey failed to make good on their word to legalize, Illinois followed through and the U.S. House of Representatives dilly-dallied with a couple of bills (SAFE and MORE Acts) that will never see the light of day.

This “banner” year that pro-pot organizations like NORML are so proud of really doesn’t equate to much. But we could have better luck next year. There are several states positioned to legalize marijuana in 2020. These are the five that seem to have the best chance at success.

After months of discussing the likely outcome, New Jersey lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly approved the inclusion of adult-use cannabis on its 2020 ballot. If approved, adults over the age of 21 would be able to participate in the legal marketplace. However, the vote would then turn the legislating back to lawmakers who struggled to put together a passable bill the year prior. 

The bust was a bust, and it could end up costing New York City some serious green.

A day after prosecutors dropped criminal charges in a case spotlighting confusion over hemp, marijuana and conflicting laws, the Brooklyn brothers caught in the chaos took the first step toward suing the city and the police department.

A new law signed by Gov. Cuomo on Monday lays the groundwork for the manufacture and sale of home-grown hemp products — including popular CBD oil — across the state.

The regulations require growers, processers and sellers to obtain state permits and hire independent labs to test their merchandise.

The law also sets labeling standards and mandates that New York-based hemp companies use only crops grown in New York.

“The hemp industry in New York is exploding and with that growth comes a responsibility to regulate the industry in a way that helps ensure its long-term viability and protects consumers,” Cuomo said.

The legal cannabis industry is still taking shape and evolving. In many ways, the industry is figuring itself out as it goes. And that leaves the door open for people to enter the space and do all sorts of creative or unexpected things.

One of the most recent examples of this is a cannabis auction taking place this weekend in New York City. The event, billed as The Cannabis Auction Exchange, will focus exclusively on selling CBD strains and products.

A case of mistaken identity might end up costing a Brooklyn, N.Y. man his livelihood.

Oren Levy, the owner of Green Angel CBD, was waiting on a shipment of legal hemp from his producer in Vermont last month when New York police came swooping in and confiscated the 106-pound delivery upon arrival at a FedEx outlet.

Police proudly posed with the massive seizure before realizing the US$20,000 shipment was not marijuana, but rather its non-intoxicating cousin, hemp.

The New York Police Department was pleased with itself in early November. On the 75th Precinct’s Facebook page, they posted images of officers and 106 pounds of what they called “marijuana that was destined for city streets.”

Except it wasn’t marijuana. And it was destined for a legal marijuana dispensary, not the “city streets.” Unraveling all that took time, but not before a shipment was seized and a person arrested -- all for, apparently, doing things that are perfectly legal.

Officers with the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn appeared unable to distinguish between marijuana and hemp, according to Jahala Dudley, one of the people who made the legal shipment.