100 signatures reached
To: Governor Kathy Hochul
I support the Cannabis Crop Rescue Act of 2023
Dear Governor Hochul,
We, the undersigned, are writing to express support for A06593 (S06470), the Cannabis Crop Rescue Act, ("CCRA") which is sponsored by Member Lupardo and cosponsored by Member Peoples-Stokes in the Assembly and Senator Hinchey, with multiple cosponsors, in the Senate.
The CCRA is a vital lifeline for legal cannabis farmers in New York, because it allows them temporary permission to sell their crop directly to the public. From Montauk to Chautauqua and St. Lawrence to Staten Island, hundreds of shops are selling out-of-state cannabis while locally-grown, tested, and taxable Empire State cannabis sits in storage, depreciating in value and draining the resources of the distressed New York farmers the Conditional Adult Use Cultivator law was meant to help.
As you said when you created the conditional Adult Use Cultivator Program, “New York’s farms have been the backbone of our state’s economy since before the American Revolution..." The delay in opening legal retail stores means that farms from other states are supplying New York's cannabis. This is breaking the backs of our farmers, depriving New York of tax revenue, and threatening the entire New York cannabis supply chain.
Please encourage the Senate and the Assembly to pass the CCRA, and when they do, please sign it into law as soon as possible.
We, the undersigned, are writing to express support for A06593 (S06470), the Cannabis Crop Rescue Act, ("CCRA") which is sponsored by Member Lupardo and cosponsored by Member Peoples-Stokes in the Assembly and Senator Hinchey, with multiple cosponsors, in the Senate.
The CCRA is a vital lifeline for legal cannabis farmers in New York, because it allows them temporary permission to sell their crop directly to the public. From Montauk to Chautauqua and St. Lawrence to Staten Island, hundreds of shops are selling out-of-state cannabis while locally-grown, tested, and taxable Empire State cannabis sits in storage, depreciating in value and draining the resources of the distressed New York farmers the Conditional Adult Use Cultivator law was meant to help.
As you said when you created the conditional Adult Use Cultivator Program, “New York’s farms have been the backbone of our state’s economy since before the American Revolution..." The delay in opening legal retail stores means that farms from other states are supplying New York's cannabis. This is breaking the backs of our farmers, depriving New York of tax revenue, and threatening the entire New York cannabis supply chain.
Please encourage the Senate and the Assembly to pass the CCRA, and when they do, please sign it into law as soon as possible.
Why is this important?
Farmers in New York are facing economic ruin because of the slow roll-out of cannabis legalization in the state. The complexity of the well-intentioned legislation has delayed the opening of legal stores, and farmers from other states have eagerly, if unlawfully, filled the pre-existing demand for cannabis in New York City and across the Empire State. New York’s farmers invested their life savings to create a legal, tested supply of premium quality New York cannabis, but the lack of retail partners means that the crop is sitting in storage, rapidly running out of shelf life. Meanwhile, planting season is upon us, and our Farmers are struggling to start the new crop, with last year’s still sitting in their barns.
Action is urgently needed to protect the legal cannabis supply and ensure the survival of New York’s cannabis farmers. Our farmers must be allowed to sell the cannabis directly to consumers so that they can keep going for another year. This short-term solution will give the legal stores time to open and ensure a legal, tested supply of New York grown cannabis when they do.
While the Office of Cannabis Management, the regulators of legal cannabis sales in New York, has repeatedly said, “Social Equity is not just a goal, it is THE goal,” unless the are major changes to the regulatory structure, the AUCCs - the first social equity licensees - will be forced out of the sector by the regulatory environment before the end of the year.
Action is urgently needed to protect the legal cannabis supply and ensure the survival of New York’s cannabis farmers. Our farmers must be allowed to sell the cannabis directly to consumers so that they can keep going for another year. This short-term solution will give the legal stores time to open and ensure a legal, tested supply of New York grown cannabis when they do.
While the Office of Cannabis Management, the regulators of legal cannabis sales in New York, has repeatedly said, “Social Equity is not just a goal, it is THE goal,” unless the are major changes to the regulatory structure, the AUCCs - the first social equity licensees - will be forced out of the sector by the regulatory environment before the end of the year.