Marijuana Meltdown

Late last week I returned from vacation in the mountains of Northern California and Nevada.  On the plane home, I was reflecting on how different life is from the pacific northwest to the tri-state area here in the Northeast!

My good friend Shannon in Redding, California asked me about a disturbing story he read online on what New York State was doing with our “Recreational Marijuana” Laws and Implementation. He enjoyed my “rant response” which was the trigger to this week’s column!

California was the first state to legalize “Medical Marijuana” in 1996.  Since then, 40 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical use and 23 of those states have approved “recreational or adult use.” 

Washington and Colorado were the first states to legalize “recreational cannabis” use in 2012 as it took California 20 years to pass “adult-use” cannabis in 2016.  On March 31^st, 2021, New York State legalized cannabis. 

According to a new report by MjBizDaily, Americans spent roughly $30 billion on “Legal Marijuana” in 2022, compared to $20 billion on chocolate.  They predict $33 billion this year and by 2028, sales of legal weed will climb to $57 billion.

New York State was getting into the business for financial reasons as our state lost $25 billion in adjusted gross tax revenue in 2021, because of the exodus of many affluent tax-paying NYS residents who moved to other states!  Although prohibited under federal law, 19 states levy some type of excise state tax on recreational cannabis purchases. 

One thing I noticed out west is that I barely saw or smelled the pungent aroma of cannabis on the street compared to New York City, where it seems to smell on almost every block.  The reasoning Shannon gave me is because California does not allow cannabis consumption in public places, whereas New York State allows public consumption in places where cigarettes can be smoked which includes near schools and by the entrance steps of train stations, for example.

A book could be written on ALL the gaffes the current NYS administration has made, which has put us in the “out of control” situation we are currently in.  Here are a few of their mistakes below:

1. Not Following in California’s Footsteps:  As of 2021 when we legalized Cannabis, California already had 20 years of experience on this issue.  Our recreational rules are too liberal and it’s too late as the damage is done!
2. Empty Promises to Upstate N.Y. Farmers:  Farmers were told to abandon their crops and grow weed for the 200+ Cannabis dispensaries promised to be opened by 2023.  Currently, New York City has 7 open legal dispensaries.  5 of them are in downtown Manhattan (is this the new Pot District?) within a 10-minute walk from each other, and there is only 1 dispensary in Queens and 1 in the Bronx, with 0 in Brooklyn and Staten Island!
3. Allowing Illegal Dispensaries to “Spread Like Weeds!”: I have seen NYC Police and news estimates of 1500-1700 illegal shops here in the city.  They are not counting any existing smoke shops or deli’s that are illegally dealing in pot, so the estimate is probably closer to 4000 shops.  Doing nothing for months then raising fines to $10,000 hasn’t put a dent in the illegal businesses, many of whom reopen the same or the next day.

The combination of not paying attention to recent history, too many licensing red tape delays, and looking the other way, has left us in the precarious position we are in today!  

Here are some of the results:

1. Over 300,000 pounds of upstate NY pot was recently disposed of after rotting for almost a year because there are no legal dispensaries to sell it!
2. With illegal dispensaries and smoke shops outnumbering legal dispensaries in NYC by about 500-1, our tax revenues are going down the drain!
3. Emergency Room admissions for juveniles due to cannabis-related incidents, like ingesting pot-infused gummies are up over 200% this year.

These problems are not going away anytime soon and could get worse before they get better.  New York City needs to take immediate action, regardless of what the state does, or doesn’t do.  We have a rat czar, perhaps it’s time for a Cannabis Czar?  Feel free to share your thoughts with me at [email protected].