New York cannabis regulators approved a rule that would allow medical marijuana patients to grow and harvest their own plants, making for a cheaper and more accessible alternative.

The New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has voted to adopt home grow rules that would allow medical marijuana patients and caregivers to grow and harvest their own cannabis plants. Tuesday’s ruling will go into effect on October 5.

The rule will allow registered medical marijuana patients and caregivers to grow and harvest up to six cannabis plants at a time. They would be able to possess up to five pounds of that cannabis, complying with the state’s cannabis laws.

Hopewell Township will halt future local support for cannabis retail establishments.

The township has already issued resolutions supporting four applicants.

Township Committee members voted unanimously to approve a resolution at the governing body’s Sept. 19 meeting.

“I think it is prudent to put a pause on things. We have vetted a couple opportunities and we have had a robust discussion over which applications might be stronger than others,” Committeeman Kevin Kuchinski said. “But that is ultimately a Planning Board and state decision.”

Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning, Deputy Mayor Michael Ruger, Committeeman David Chait, Committeewoman Uma Purandare, and Kuchinski voted “yes” on the resolution.

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission has issued guidance for workplaces, and state officials are suggesting employers treat marijuana like alcohol.

Let's be honest; the real reason New York State legalized adult-use recreational cannabis is due to the potential tax revenue it will produce.

Although marijuana was decriminalized, the state fast-tracked approval of the legalization of marijuana after COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the budget. So much money was provided for COVID-19 relief and to protect residents, that the state had few options to recoup the money. Then those in power realized that cannabis (and online sports betting) were the answer. Vices usually are, lol. People spend a lot of money on things like gambling, alcohol, tobacco, sex, drugs, and marijuana.

“Half of those interviewed at length were parents who said it has felt impossible to extricate themselves from deeply rooted biases in the child welfare system surrounding marijuana use, specifically toward people of colour”

Despite the legalization of cannabis in New York, child welfare agencies continue to cite use of the substance in family courts, with parents sometimes being separated from their children because of marijuana consumption.

It is reported that these parents are often minorities, who were disproportionately adversely affected during the War on Drugs.

LEBANON TOWNSHIP - The township Planning Board is scheduled on Tuesday to start hearing an application to build a marijuana grow facility on Anthony Road, perhaps the most controversial issue in the northern Hunterdon County municipality in recent years.

The application by The NAR Group, of Warren Township, to open a 20,000-square-foot medical marijuana cultivation facility at 62 Anthony Road, the former site of the Diamond Aerosol manufacturing facility, was originally scheduled to be heard on Aug. 16, but NAR requested a postponement until Aug. 30.

To accommodate the large number of residents interested in attending, the hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the gymnasium of Woodglen Elementary School on Bunnvale Road.

Regulators plan to award up to 150 licences across 14 regions in New York State

NEW YORK—The state Office of Cannabis Management is taking applications for people interested in applying for a retail marijuana dispensary license, the board said Thursday at a virtual news conference. 

The launch of the application portal for CAURD, Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary Licenses, the first adult-use retail cannabis dispensaries to open, is part of the state’s effort to give business opportunities to those affected most by the state’s once-strict marijuana laws.