New York lawmakers poised to kill proposed cannabis farmer relief package

Word out of New York is that a proposed $128 million relief package to alleviate financial problems of licensed marijuana farmers is now about to get the axe from lawmakers, with the suggested bundle of grants, loans. and tax credits reportedly not being included in the state budget.

According to NY Cannabis Insider, which cited an unnamed source familiar with budget negotiations between lawmakers and the governor’s office, budget talks in recent weeks have not included the “cannabis fund” that was intended to prop up the flailing cannabis farming sector.

Though Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office did not comment on the story, NY Cannabis Insider reported that “all signs pointed to the relief fund being spiked from” the final state budget.

Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, said she had “heard the same rumors” about the financial relief being taken off the negotiating table, but she couldn’t confirm its death.

“In order for us to have a robust 2024 growing season, one that involves New York farmers, some financial assistance must be forthcoming,” Lupardo wrote in an email to NY Cannabis Insider.

Several licensed marijuana farmers voiced their discontent about the possible lack of state support in a letter to Hochul this week.

“Without swift intervention from your office, we risk witnessing the collapse of a vital sector of our economy,” Cannabis Farmers Alliance acting president Joseph Calderone wrote, adding that 97% of licensed farmers are currently running their businesses at a loss.

Cannabis farmer Justin Merkel called the apparent nixing of state aid “a terrible injustice,” and said that if the marijuana farming community hadn’t stepped up, there’d be no legal adult-use marijuana products available on the market today.

And farmer Tessa Williams told NY Cannabis Insider that the state needs to act “before all our agricultural efforts are voided by the illicit market.”

The New York Cannabis Control Board did waive license fees for farmers at its most recent meeting in March, after which Hochul said in a statement that the farming community is “the backbone of our state, and we’re making sure the family farms across New York that are building our cannabis industry have a real chance to succeed.”

Hochul has also labeled the adult-use market rollout – which began in December 2022 and has been one of the bumpiest in the nation – as a “disaster” in need of fixing.