New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s advisor on marijuana policy said this week the Empire State could legalize weed in April of next year with a bill that would serve as a model for other states looking to allow recreational pot in the United States.

Axel Bernabe, assistant counselor to Governor Cuomo, was a guest on the Under The Canopy series, recently launched by Canopy Growth, where he discussed cannabis legalization efforts in New York. According to Bernabe, a bill to legalize marijuana will be introduced through the state budget in January again, while he expects legalization to take effect by April. 

States can’t wait. That’s the rallying cry for a new initiative that seeks to set up an interstate market for cannabis between states where recreational and medical cannabis are legal.

Called the Alliance for Sensible Markets, the non-profit coalition of business and advocacy leaders is committed to legalizing commerce between participating legal markets by 2021.

The tally of cannabis seizures at the Peace Bridge running between Canada and the U.S. increased yet again last week when U.S. border officers in Buffalo discovered a commercial shipment with more than a ton of weed.

New York’s hemp and cannabis industry, facing a potential shutdown at the end of the month, has been given life for another year.

The state’s two-year-old hemp pilot program will be extended through the end of September 2021, giving the industry “some breathing room,” according to Allan Gandelman, president of the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association.

The coronavirus pandemic took a significant toll on New York, affecting the state and its residents physically, emotionally and financially. Through adherence to public health protocols, we have gone from being the epicenter of the outbreak to having some of the nation’s lowest infection and fatality rates.

It’s been over nine months since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Hemp Extract bill into law and businesses are wondering where the regulations are.

Those with Beak & Skiff in Lafayette, along with reps from the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association, held a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Businesses have not only invested in equipment but workers have as well. They are all looking on the state to see where to go from here.

“So we can have a framework to operate our businesses effectively, safe and continue to produce the crops and produce the products that our customers and people throughout New York have come to love,” said Eddie Brennan, president at Beak & Skiff.

In an era when police and prison reform is consistently being called for across the nation, and when cannabis legalization is sweeping the country at a rapid rate, a former prison facility in Warwick, New York is being turned into a cannabis testing facility. 

As the West Coast matures from the early Green Rush and Midwest markets like Michigan and Illinois hit their stride with recent legalization, all eyes are on the Northeast as the sleeping giant that will radically change the national cannabis landscape for 2021 and beyond. Among the 40 million-plus residing in the tri-state area between New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the East Coast offers a monumental competitive advantage with substantial opportunities for new players to make their mark as soon as the industry is given the green light to move forward—which is only a matter of time.

New York agriculture regulators are preparing hemp farmers for the USDA permit process ahead of the 2021 season, citing “unrealistic” policies in the interim final rule, according to a recent WSHU report. 

Agriculture officials in New York say federal rules for producing hemp are “unrealistic.” The state also said they won’t try to regulate the crop. Hemp farmers say they will have to be very careful without support from the state.

Legal hemp is a tricky crop to harvest. It’s cannabis — like marijuana, without the mind altering properties.

But hemp still contains some of the psychoactive chemical, THC. That’s where the bad news starts for hemp growers like David Falkowski.

“There could be criminal implications on the farmers," Falkowski said. "They could actually be brought up on charges. And some of the lesser degrees, they would have to burn or disk in their crop under the oversight of a DEA registered agency.”