It took recently inaugurated New York Gov. Kathy Hochul less than two weeks to do what former Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to accomplish in the five months following his signing of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). Hochul nominated former Drug Policy Alliance staffer Chris Alexander for executive director of the new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and former New York Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright for chair of the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) during a special legislative session that convened Sept. 1. Hochul, who became New York’s first female governor last week—after Cuomo resigned following months of sexual harassment allegations—called for the session the previous day. Established within New York’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the OCM will operate as an independent entity with exclusive jurisdiction to oversee not only the adult-use cannabis regulatory structure but also the state’s existing medical cannabis and hemp programs. The five-member CCB will govern the office.
Posted Melissa Schiller, Cannabis Business Times, 09/02/2021 10:27:00