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Tag: New York marijuana

  • State Marijuana Legalization Might Not Include Smoking, New York Governor Hints

    State Marijuana Legalization Might Not Include Smoking, New York Governor Hints

    “There are ways to get THC without smoking marijuana, and we don’t encourage smoking period.”

    Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York may have hinted that the state’s cannabis legalization bill may include a ban on smoking the substance, allowing only other methods of use such as edibles.

    This suggestion was noticed by Marijuana Moment after Cuomo was interviewed on MSNBC Sunday and was asked if the recent cases of lung injury and deaths possibly connected to vaping products had made him reconsider his stance on the issue.

    “No,” said Cuomo. “On marijuana, we’re not in favor of smoking marijuana. There are ways to get THC without smoking marijuana, and we don’t encourage smoking period.”

    Legalizing THC Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Legalizing Weed

    Cuomo may have simply been defending his stance on cannabis legalization by pointing out that people don’t have to smoke it in order to enjoy it as MSNBC anchor Kendis Gibson pushed him on the vaping issue. However, multiple cannabis-focused news outlets have interpreted his answers as possibly suggesting that all or some forms of smoking could be banned in a future legalization bill.

    “You can legalize marijuana and sell THC in compounds that do not require you to smoke the marijuana, and we do not support smoking of marijuana,” Cuomo continued. “There are compounds that have the THC, which is a compound in marijuana, that you don’t smoke.”

    It is possible that a marijuana legalization bill could include an exception for smokables, especially as general bans on vaping products for both tobacco and cannabis have already been proposed.

    The Trump administration is currently finalizing a national ban on flavored e-cigarettes that many experts have pointed to as the reason for the recent spikes in teen vaping rates. 

    Democrats are backing the proposed ban, with many of them saying that the legislation is long overdue. Meanwhile, multiple states, including New York, are drafting their own vaping bans.

    There is also direct precedent for such a ban in New York cannabis law. In 2014, medical marijuana legislation signed into law by Cuomo included a ban on smokable forms of the substance. Cuomo insisted on this provision himself, though his views on cannabis have clearly evolved over the years.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • NYC Bill Aims To End Marijuana Testing Of Job Applicants

    NYC Bill Aims To End Marijuana Testing Of Job Applicants

    The bill is one of several efforts being made to reform marijuana policy while progress has stalled on legalizing it statewide.

    New York City may become the first jurisdiction in the country to pass a law that would explicitly bar employers from screening job applicants for marijuana use.

    The city council “overwhelmingly” passed a bill (with a 40-4 vote) that would prevent most employers from this practice, the New York Times reports.

    “If we want to be a progressive city, we have to really put these things into action,” said the city’s public advocate Jumaane D. Williams, who authored the bill.

    Mayor Bill de Blasio has signaled his support of the legislation, which according to the NYT would be the first in the U.S. to prohibit employers from marijuana testing job applicants.

    If enacted, the law will affect both public and private employers in New York City, including companies that have headquarters elsewhere, Williams said.

    The bill would not excuse every worker from being tested, however. A handful of occupations—including construction, law enforcement, child care, medical care, truck driving and aviation—would be exempt from the rule. Employers may also test workers if they appear to be under the influence of marijuana at work. Federal or state employees and government contractors are also exempt as they do not fall under the city’s jurisdiction.

    The mayor is expected to sign the bill into law. It is one of several efforts being made to reform marijuana policy while progress has stalled on legalizing it statewide.

    Another bill passed by the city council would stop the city from requiring marijuana testing for people on probation, according to the NYT.

    NY lawmakers have made little progress on marijuana legalization, but Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office told CBS News that he was “still negotiating to legalize marijuana by the end of the legislative session in June.” Issues like equity programs—to ensure that people of color are guaranteed a stake in the growing industry to make up for years of being disproportionately affected by anti-marijuana laws—have gotten in the way of reaching a deal thus far.

    “I’m proud that the city has taken action where the federal and the state government have stalled,” said Williams.

    In 1986, former President Ronald Reagan issued an executive order calling for “drug-free workplaces,” mandating drug testing at federal agencies. According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, in 2011 more than half of U.S. employers conducted drug screenings on job applicants.

    However, some disagree that drug testing is a reliable method of predicting job performance.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • NYC Cracks Down On CBD Edibles

    NYC Cracks Down On CBD Edibles

    Some NYC restaurants that sell CBD-infused foods are having their products “embargoed” by the state’s Department of Health.

    Despite the fact that New York State is moving forward with plans to legalize cannabis, officials in New York City are cracking down on restaurants selling food products laced with cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD. 

    C.J. Holm, the owner of Fat Cat Kitchen in the East Village, recently told The New York Times that health department officials showed up at the restaurant asking questions about products that contained CBD. Fat Cat Kitchen sold brownies, cookies and honey infused with CBD, a non-psychoactive compound in cannabis which many people believe has health benefits.

    The inspectors put the CBD-infused food, worth about $1,000, in a bag labeled “Embargoed,” according to Eater. They left the product with Holm, but couldn’t explain to her why she was not able to sell it. 

    “They couldn’t even intelligently explain to me exactly what the problem was when I spoke to them on the phone,” Holm said. 

    Similar events took place at at least five restaurants around the city. 

    CBD falls into murky legal territory. Although it is legal to buy and sell, it isn’t an approved food additive, the Department of Health said. 

    “Restaurants in New York City are not permitted to add anything to food or drink that is not approved as safe to eat,” a New York City Department of Health spokesperson told The Atlantic. “Until cannabidiol… is deemed safe as a food additive, the department is ordering restaurants not to offer products containing CBD.”

    Holm said that inspectors from the Department of Health have been to Fat Cat Kitchen twice before and never paid much attention to the CBD-infused product, which Holm began selling two months ago. She said that a ban on selling CBD edibles could have a big impact on her business’s bottom line. 

    “My CBD stuff is absolutely the No. 1-selling revenue source in the store.”

    Holm was frustrated by the lack of transparency about the policy. 

    “It just seemed so random and arbitrary to me. And it was really difficult getting answers as to what the exact issue is,” she said. “Now, just out of the blue, they’re just going to randomly embargo restaurants’ products? I just don’t feel like it was done properly.”

    The controversy over CBD edibles is gaining attention in other cities around the country, with Departments of Health arguing that food and drinks containing CBD need to be labeled and regulated.

    “The packaging and labeling requirements aren’t there yet in states that don’t have a cannabis regime,” said California lawyer Griffen Thorne. “If you go buy a CBD beverage and it’s not specially packaged—it just looks like another coffee or whatever—someone might take a sip who doesn’t intend to.”

    View the original article at thefix.com