§ 2 — Legislative findings and intent

New York § 2

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law CAN: Cannabis
• Art. 1: Short Title; Legislative Findings and Intent; Definitions

Text

§ 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that\nexisting marihuana laws have not been beneficial to the welfare of the\ngeneral public. Existing laws have been ineffective in reducing or\ncurbing marihuana use and have instead resulted in devastating\ncollateral consequences including mass incarceration and other complex\ngenerational trauma, that inhibit an otherwise law-abiding citizen's\nability to access housing, employment opportunities, and other vital\nservices. Existing laws have also created an illicit market which\nrepresents a threat to public health and reduces the ability of the\nlegislature to deter the accessing of marihuana by minors. Existing\nmarihuana laws have disproportionately impacted African-American and\nLatinx communities.\n The intent of this act is to regulate, control, and tax marihuana,\nheretofore known as cannabis, generate significant new revenue, make\nsubstantial investments in communities and people most impacted by\ncannabis criminalization to address the collateral consequences of such\ncriminalization, prevent access to cannabis by those under the age of\ntwenty-one years, reduce the illegal drug market and reduce violent\ncrime, reduce participation of otherwise law-abiding citizens in the\nillicit market, end the racially disparate impact of existing cannabis\nlaws, create new industries, protect the environment, improve the\nstate's resiliency to climate change, protect the public health, safety\nand welfare of the people of the state, increase employment and\nstrengthen New York's agriculture sector.\n Nothing in this act is intended to limit the authority of any\ndistrict, government agency or office or employers to enact and enforce\npolicies pertaining to cannabis in the workplace; to allow driving under\nthe influence of cannabis; to allow individuals to engage in conduct\nthat endangers others; to allow smoking cannabis in any location where\nsmoking tobacco is prohibited; or to require any individual to engage in\nany conduct that violates federal law or to exempt anyone from any\nrequirement of federal law or pose any obstacle to the federal\nenforcement of federal law.\n The legislature further finds and declares that it is in the best\ninterest of the state to regulate medical cannabis, adult-use cannabis,\ncannabinoid hemp and hemp extracts under independent entities, known as\nthe cannabis control board and the office of cannabis management.\n