New York State Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant on Thursday struck down a state law regulating the sale of recreational marijuana, clarifying his ruling that appears to invalidate all marijuana regulations as unconstitutionally vague. .
Judge Bryant criticized the regulatory process, accusing the New York State Office of Cannabis Control of failing to show that its regulations were “reasonably supported” by facts and data. “There is no evidence here that any evidence was actually submitted to the agency, and there is no outline of the process the agency followed in considering the proposed regulations.” He described the regulations as “arbitrary and capricious” as there was no basis for them.
Leafly Holdings, a plaintiff in the case, claims that third-party advertising impacts Yelp-like services such as Weedmaps and Leafly, which use app technology to provide information to recreational marijuana users and connect them to dispensaries. The ban was being challenged by the owners and marketers. The service will include crowdsourced ratings and reviews from users, as well as allow pharmacy platforms to purchase advertising space for their businesses.
Leafly argued that regulations were “making it more difficult”. [consumers] To obtain information regarding legal dispensing pharmacies [to] You can make informed purchasing decisions. ” The agency argued that the regulation embodies the “legitimate government interest” to support small businesses and “promote social and economic equity,” including the well-being of New York State as a whole.
Ultimately, Judge Bryant sided with Leafly and struck down the ban on third-party sales, but caused significant confusion with an opinion that seemed to reject the entire recreational marijuana regulatory system based on ambiguity. Ta. Following the outcry, Judge Bryant revised his opinion to apply strictly to third-party marketing.
New York state legalized recreational marijuana just three years ago, but its implementation has drawn criticism from many for repeated delays and poor management. Other states that have recently legalized marijuana include New Mexico, Maryland, and Missouri. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a marijuana decriminalization bill just two years ago, but the bill stalled in the Senate.
