New York Reg. Update: Health Insurance For Medical Marijuana, New Efforts Against Illicit Cannabis Market & More

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has taken important steps to get the state's legal cannabis market up and running.

Medical Cannabis For Insurance Coverage

On Wednesday, the state Senate gave the green light to a bill that would require public health insurance programs to cover medical marijuana expenses. The legislation would also allow private insurers to do the same, reported Marijuana Moment.

Sponsored by Diane Savino (D), SB S8837 was passed in the Senate on a 53-10 vote, after advancing through two committees. The bill defines medical cannabis as a “prescription drug,” “covered drug” or “health care service” under the relevant codes. It is now heading to the Assembly, where the Ways & Means Committee will review it.

If signed into law, the bill would require Medicaid and workers' compensations to provide coverage.

“It is time for New York State to lead the way on this issue,” Savino said adding that “some state is going to have to force this issue.”

More Conditional Cultivation Licenses

In the meantime, the New York cannabis regulators approved 16 more conditional adult-use marijuana cultivation licenses recently in addition to approving new regulations on packaging and labeling of marijuana products.

To date, the New York Cannabis Control Board has signed off on a total of 162 cultivation permits. The latest move follows the issuance of 58 licenses last month.

Conditional licenses enable the holder to cultivate outdoors or in a greenhouse with up to 20 artificial lights.

New York Lawmakers Fight Illicit Marijuana Market

While the recreational marijuana market is expected to kick off later this year or in early 2023, it turns out that sales of buds and edibles are already flourishing in Manhattan.

The state’s cannabis regulators proclaimed marijuana gifting to be illegal earlier. In fact, the Office of Cannabis Management's (OCM) Enforcement Unit recently sent "cease and desist" letters to more than two dozen businesses it found to be doing just that.

However, it seems that stores selling a product or service to consumers and then giving them cannabis as a "gift" have become a thing in the Big Apple.

Now state senators are tackling the issue of illicit weed sales via a bill passed Wednesday that seeks to expand the authority of the Office of Cannabis Management to crack down on illicit sales and possession, reported Syracuse NY.

Introduced by Sen. Liz Krueger on Sunday, the new piece of legislation would direct the state Department of Taxation and Finance to issue penalties to people illegally selling marijuana and double civil penalties for “any person knowingly who possesses ‘illicit cannabis.’"

“This bill is aimed at grey market operators such as retail cannabis stores that have emerged during the period after legalization but before licensed businesses begin operating,” Krueger’s spokesperson, Justin Flagg told Syracuse in an email.

Photo: Courtesy of Luca Bravo on Unsplash