Legalize and Tax Marijuana

Section two of the bill is comprised of legislative findings and state- ments of purpose.

Section three of the bill amends section 3302 of the Public Health Law to eliminate the definitions of Concentrated Cannabis and Marihuana from the controlled substances act.

Section four of the bill amends section 3306 of the Public Health Law to remove the classification of marihuana as a schedule 1 hallucinogen on the schedules of controlled substances.

Section five of the bill amends section 3382 of the Public Health Law to allow home cultivation of up to 6 marihuana plants by individuals twen- ty-one years or older.

Section six of the bill amends section 1311 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules to exclude marihuana possession as grounds for a currency forfeiture action.

Section seven of the bill amends section 3397-b of the public health law to make conforming changes in definition of marihuana.

Section eight of the bill amends section 114a of the Vehicle and Traffic Law adding marihuana and concentrated cannabis to the definition of drug for purposes of driving under the influence.

Section nine of the bill amends section 220.0 of the Penal Law to update the definition of marihuana and include a definition for concentrated cannabis as a controlled substance.

Sections ten to twelve of the bill update cross references to amended sections of the penal law.

Section thirteen of the bill amends section 220.50 of the Penal Law to exclude marihuana paraphernalia from criminal use of drug paraphernalia.

Section fourteen of the bill repeals sections 221.05, 221.10, 221.15. 221. 20, 221.25, 221.30 and 221.40 related to illegal possession and sale of marihuana.

Section fifteen of the bill adds new section 221.05 and 211.05-a to the Penal Law to establish conditions for legal personal use and cultivation of marihuana and penalties for violations of those conditions.

Section sixteen of the bill amends section 221.45 of the Penal Law to define unlicensed sale of marihuana in the third degree.

Section seventeen of the bill amends section 221.50 of the Penal Law bill to define unlicensed sale of marihuana in the second degree.

Section eighteen of the bill amends section 221.55 of the Penal Law, to define unlicensed sale of marihuana in the first degrees.

Section nineteen of the bill adds a new section 221.60 to the Penal Law establishing that those acting in compliance with the Alcohol Beverage Control Law are exempt from sections § 220 and § 221 of the New York Penal Law.

Section twenty of the bill amends subdivision 8 of section 1399-n of the Public Health Law to include marihuana in list of substances subject to smoking regulations.

Section twenty-one of the bill amends section 2 of the Alcoholic Bever- age Control Law to include regulation of marihuana products in the purpose of this chapter.

Section twenty-two of the bill amends section 3 of the Alcoholic Bever- age Control Law to include definitions of Concentrated Cannabis, Mari- huana, and Marihuana consumers, processors, producer, products, infused products, retailer and retailer for on-premises consumption, and unrea- sonably impracticable.

Section twenty-three of the bill amends section 65-b of the Alcoholic Beverage Control law to ban use of fraudulent documents for the purpose of purchasing marihuana products by persons under twenty-one years of age, and establishing procedures for sellers of marihuana products to prevent such sales.

Section twenty-four of the bill amends section 65-c of the Alcoholic Beverage Control law to make possession of marihuana by those under twenty-one unlawful, and to establish penalties and requirements for completion of a drug awareness program for those who violate this section.

Section twenty-five of the bill adds a new section 65-e to the Alcoholic Beverage Control law establishing restrictions for personal use of mari- huana, including smoking in public or where smoking tobacco is banned, possessing, smoking or ingesting on school grounds, and smoking or ingesting while operating a motor vehicle, and establishing penalties for violations of this section.

Section twenty-six of the bill amends section 140 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to extend the option of any town or city to ban sale of alcoholic beverages to sales of marihuana.

Section twenty-seven of the bill amends section 141 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to apply the rules governing referendum procedures for banning sales of alcohol by towns to sales of marihuana.

Section twenty-eight of the bill amends section 142 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to establish that sale of marihuana is prohibited in any city that passes a referendum against such sales.

Section twenty-nine of the bill amends section 147 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to establish that if the rules regarding future referendums will also apply to marihuana sales.

Section thirty of the bill renumbers article 11 of the Alcoholic Bever- age Control Law as article 12 and sections 160, 161, 162, 163 and 164 as sections 200, 201, 202, 203 and 204.

Section thirty-one of the bill adds a new Article 11 to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law providing establishment of a bureau of marihuana policy to provide for the regulation of marihuana production, process- ing, testing, distribution and sale within the State Liquor Authority, establishing licensing and permitting rules, and providing for penalties for violations.

Section thirty-two of the bill adds new sections 99-ff, 99-gg, and 99-hh to the State Finance law establishing the marihuana revenue fund, the drug treatment public education fund, and the community grants reinvest- ment funds. These funds will distribute revenue generated by this legis- lation for administrative costs, data tracking and reporting, program evaluation, public education, drug treatment and health education, and grants to support community-based programs providing services including job placement, job skills, adult education, mental health, legal services addressing barriers to reentry, women's health and other commu- nity-based supportive services in communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies.

Section thirty-three of the bill adds a new Article 18-A to the New York Tax Code imposing an excise tax on marihuana and concentrated cannabis, and establishing a formula for distribution of the proceeds of this tax. Proceeds from the tax will be placed in a fund established by the comp- troller known as the marihuana revenue fund. Localities would also be authorized to, impose a sales tax of up to two percent on retail sales.

Section thirty-four of the bill amends subdivision 3 of section 160.50 of the criminal procedure law to update references to clearing of records in criminal actions terminated in favor of the accused.

Section thirty-five of the bill amends subdivision 4 of section 160.50 of the criminal procedure law to update references to provide for persons to apply for sealing of records.

Section thirty-six of the bill amends section 170.56 of the criminal procedure law providing for suspension of court proceedings and adjourn- ment in contemplation of dismissal for exceptional circumstances in marihuana related violations.

Section thirty-seven of the bill updates cross references in section 210.46 of the criminal procedure law.

Section thirty-eight of the bill amends section 440.10 of the criminal procedure law to provide for vacating convictions based on marihuana possession in cases where the offense would no longer be a crime under this act.

Section thirty-nine of the bill amends section 440.10 of the criminal procedure law to update cross references.

Section forty of the bill adds a new section 440.46-a providing for motions to resentence persons convicted of marihuana offenses under penal laws prior to the passage of this legislation.

Section forty-one through forty-three of the bill of the bill update cross references to amended sections of the criminal procedure law, civil practice law and rules, and general business law.

Section forty-four of the bill repeals paragraph f of subdivision 2 of section 850 of the general business law.

Section forty-five of the bill amends section 850 of the general busi- ness law to remove references to marihuana and hashish paraphernalia.

Section forty-six of the bill updates cross references in the state finance law to amended sections in the alcoholic beverage control law.

Section forty-seven through forty-nine of the bill update definitions and cross references in the executive law, penal law, and vehicle and traffic law.

Section fifty of the bill updates section 1194 of the vehicle and traf- fic law to specify testing limits for marihuana content.

Section fifty-one through fifty-four of the bill amends the alcoholic beverage control law to include the development of substance use disor- der training awareness programs within the powers of the authority.

Section fifty-five of the bill repeals section 150.75 of the criminal procedure law.

Section fifty-six of the bill updates cross references in the family court act.

Section fifty-seven of the bill adds a new section 99-ii to the state finance law to establish a marihuana microbusiness and marihuana license revolving loan fund.

Section fifty-eight of the bill provides for an appropriation of five million dollars to the State Liquor Authority for implementation of this act.

Section fifty-nine of the bill is a severability clause. Section sixty of the bill is the effective date.

Difference between original and amended version

The amended version of the bill provides technical amendments, clarifies that personal cultivation cannot be banned by local jurisdictions, clar- ifies that regulating/prohibiting marijuana retail licenses at the local level is vested with cities, towns, and villages, provides robust public outreach and education on license opportunities and other applicable regulations, provides maintenance of efforts related to state education funding, provides a more robust social equity plan that prioritizes licenses for small minority and women owned businesses, provides labor peace requirements for businesses with more than 25 employees, and establishes a revolving loan fund to assist license applicants obtain necessary capital, with a priority to give loans to small, minority, and women owned businesses.

Justification

New York's marihuana policies are broken, unjust, and outdated. The Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) is based on the recognition that New York's existing marihuana policies have failed to protect the welfare of our communities. Marihuana prohibition has thrust thousands of New Yorkers into the criminal justice system for non-violent offenses, inhibiting an otherwise law-abiding citizen's ability to access housing, student loans, employment opportunities, voting, and other vital services. Additionally, rather than curtailing youth-mari- huana usage, existing marihuana laws have led to an illicit market that has done little to address marihuana usage by minors.

Existing marihuana laws have led to profligate spending of law enforce- ment resources, and discriminatory police practices that have perpet- uated systematic racism and discrimination increasing the prison popu- lation with non-violent offenders. Over the past two decades, New York has become the marihuana arrest capital of the country, with nearly 800,000 marihuana arrests and summons.

These arrests disproportionately impact the lives of African-American and Latino communities. African-Americans and Latinos are swept into the criminal justice system for marihuana use, while whites are afforded impunity due to the color of their skin. While government studies show that whites of all ages use marihuana at the same rate as people of color, a stark difference in arrest rates remain. Across New York City, African-Americans are arrested on low-level marihuana charges at eight times the rate of white, non-hispanic people and Hispanics are arrested at five times the rate of whites. One of the largest drivers of racial disparity in criminalization and incarceration rates is the inequity of how the law is applied in marihuana arrests.

The intent of this act is to regulate, control, and tax marihuana in a manner similar to alcohol. The MRTA will generate millions of dollars in new revenue, prevent access to marihuana by those under the age of twen- ty-one, reduce the illegal drug market and violent crime, reduce partic- ipation of otherwise law-abiding citizens in an illicit market and create new industries and increase employment. With the enactment of the MRTA the New York State Legislature has an opportunity to end the racially disparate impact of existing marihuana policies.

Sixty million Americans now live in states where adult-marihuana is legal. Nationwide, public perception of marihuana is growing more favor- able, with 61% of the population supporting legalization. In NYC fatal drug overdoses are now four times more common than homicides. The New York Department of Health concluded that marihuana is a far safer pain reliever than opioids, and reduces the risk of fatal overdoses that are prevalent across the state and country. In states that have legalized marihuana, opioid overdose rates were 25% lower compared with states with no legal access to marihuana. Additionally, two-thirds of Americans also view marihuana as being safer than opioids in the management of pain.

There are roughly 1.5 million regular marihuana users in New York, half of which live in New York City. In May of 2018, NYC Comptroller Stringer released a report which estimates a $3.1 billion adult-use marihuana market for New York State, with $1.1 billion just in New York City. With the enactment of the MRTA New York State could realize a projected $436 million in tax revenue, while New York City could accrue an additional $336 million in tax revenue.

This legislation directs 50% of the tax revenue to establish the Commu- nity Grants Reinvestment Fund, aimed at giving back to the communities that have been the most disproportionately affected by current marihuana laws. States across the country that have recently legalized marihuana, from Massachusetts to Alaska, are reinvesting in programs that offer people a new start through community re-entry programs, schools, job development, drug treatment, and legal services.

Prior legislative history

2017-2018: S.3040C - Health/A.3506C Peoples-Stokes Codes 2015-2016: S.1747 - Health/A.3089A Peoples-Stokes Codes 2013-2014: S.6005 - Health/A.8341 Peoples-Stokes Codes

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

Increase revenue for state and local governments. Fiscal implication assumptions for similar legislation implemented in Colorado, Amendment 64, estimated an annual revenue increase of 5-22 million dollars and an annual spending increase of .5-1.5 million dollars. Given the larger population of New York State this legislation should generate revenue substantially larger than these estimates.

Effective date

Immediately.