The New York governor promises to start the cannabis industry that stalled Cuomo

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who replaced the disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo, vowed to pick where Cuomo failed and kickstart the state’s adult cannabis market. New York residents grew tired and waited for the industry to manifest while the former governor was consumed by scandals.

For background information, former Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature passed law last March that legalized adult cannabis in New York. However, Cuomo became embroiled in a dispute with the state Senate, so he neither nominated an executive director for the new Office of Cannabis Management nor nominated appointments to the Cannabis Control Board, despite the fact that the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act was passed several months ago.

This left the state’s cannabis industry in limbo, as licenses and new rules cannot be approved without the Cannabis Control Board in operation.

Cuomo’s scandals came to a head earlier this month. He was gone within a week of a report describing 11 well-founded allegations by women of sexual harassment and assault against Governor Cuomo.

On August 10, former Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation effective August 24 – and automatically became Governor of Hochul, who was officially sworn in on the same day his resignation took effect. This made Governor Hochul New York’s first female governor in its history. Among other things, she plans to tackle cannabis reform, which has dragged on in New York for too long.

Governor Hochul’s representatives confirmed that she plans to fill critical cannabis positions as a priority. “Nominating and approving individuals with diverse experience and expertise who represent communities across the state to the Cannabis Control Board is a priority for Governor Hochul,” the new governor’s spokesman Jordan Bennett told the New York Post . “We look forward to working with lawmakers to drive this process forward,” said the Hochul representative.

According to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins ​​(D-Yonkers) and Congregation Spokesperson Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), Hochul also announced that she will take over the Cannabis Control Board appointments. “They talked about the need to make board appointments,” said Mike Murphy, a spokesman for Stewart Cousins.

Heastie said Governor Hochul made it clear during a private meeting on Aug. 9 that cannabis was a priority. “She said we should all focus on it – and we agreed,” said Heastie.

However, Rochester First reported that Governor Hochul did not speak specifically about cannabis in her very first address, but acknowledged that her team agreed that cannabis will be a priority.

The first female governor of New York

Not only is Governor Hochul the first female governor of New York, her appointment also means that there are currently nine female governors in office – a record for the highest number of female governors to date.

It is a much more inclusive time for governance. Hochul joins Governors Kristi Noem, Kate Brown, Laura Kelly, Kay Ivey, Kim Reynolds, Gretchen Whitmer, Michelle Lujan Grisham and Janet Mills.

Several of the above governors have been actively involved in cannabis reform, for better or for worse. For example, Governor Kristi Noem has repeatedly delayed or opposed cannabis reform, including controversial adult use and the Medical Cannabis Act in South Dakota.

Governor Hochul has been Lieutenant Governor of Cuomo since 2015. But as Hochul increasingly tried to emphasize her distance from Cuomo, it became clearer that she was going to take the throne.

But the new governor promised to do things very differently from the man she replaced in her new role. “Nobody,” said Hochul, “will ever call my administration a toxic work environment.”