"This study provides additional evidence that legalizing and regulating cannabis does not result in increased rates of use among teens. In fact, it suggests that cannabis legalization laws might be decreasing teen use," Matt Schweich, MPP's deputy director.
"We are grateful for the leadership of Sens. Booker, Schumer, and Wyden to end an eight-decades long policy failure and appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback as the sponsoring offices refine the bill," said Karen O’Keefe, MPP's director of state policies.
"While we are enthusiastic about the goals of the CAO Act Discussion Draft, we believe the regulatory aspects need significant clarification and revision to avoid unintended consequences. Our two major areas of concern are: the possible upending of state licensing and regulatory systems—driving sales underground—and the impact on medical cannabis access, including for those under the age of 21," said Karen O'Keefe, MPP's director of state policies.
The Marijuana Policy Project wrote in a 12-page letter that while the bill is a good start, it doesn’t go far enough to both protect current MJ users and to right the wrongs done to consumers in the past.
"Federal prohibition urgently needs to end. It has wasted billions of dollars while upending tens of thousands of lives—disproportionately those of Black and Brown Americans—over a plant that is safer than alcohol," said Karen O'Keefe, MPP's director of state policies.
New York is expected to reach $4.2B in annual sales by 2027 and according to the Marijuana Policy Project, the entire Northeast region, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, is expected to generate $8.7 billion in sales by that year.
"We’re encouraged that SB711 has been advanced by the Judiciary Committee. This is a crucial hurdle that has been cleared on the road to full passage," said DeVaughn Ward, MPP's senior legislative counsel.
"We hope to see increased opportunities for independent local businesses and persons with prior convictions in the industry included in future iterations of the bill," said DeVaughn Ward, MPP's senior legislative counsel.