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NY Cannabis Insider spoke with a dozen people, including attorneys, license seekers, medical ROs and others, about whether the CCB’s move to expand CAURD is a wise move.

NY Cannabis Insider is hosting its first in-person conference in Albany on May 20th. The event will feature expert panels, networking, a vendor fair and more. Tickets are available now.

Though New York legalized adult-use marijuana last year, interpreting some of the state regulations — both enacted and proposed — can be daunting.

NY Cannabis Insider is here to help, and today we’ll begin answering the frequently asked questions we overhear in the cannabis space.

Some questions will be answered by industry experts, others by our journalists, and a few from the Office of Cannabis Management — which recently debuted its “Cannabis Conversations”. . .

The legalization of recreational marijuana has arrived in New York State. The oversight commission and Office of Cannabis Management opened in Albany in October. The tax rates and initial revenue recipients have been determined and once OCM establishes industry regulations — it expects to have those regulations done by the end of March — the long-awaited business of selling recreational marijuana will begin in New York State.

Municipalities had until the end of 2021 to specifically opt out of allowing dispensaries and consumption sites. If they don’t opt in or out, they’re in. Opt-in and opt-out clarification an be found at . . .

A look at a map shows that the majority of Chautauqua County’s municipalities have opted out of allowing marijuana dispensaries and lounges. However, the ones with the largest populations opted in.

Cannasigliere, LLC, and its founder, Mike Doyle, operate a map overlay for Google Maps that shows the cannabis status for every municipality in the state. Cannasigliere is a Rochester consulting firm “that specializes in providing individuals and groups across the state with the know-how to approach post-prohibition opportunities,” according to Doyle’s LinkedIn profile.

A look at a map shows that the majority of Chautauqua County’s municipalities have opted out of allowing marijuana dispensaries and lounges. However, the ones with the largest populations opted in.

Cannasigliere, LLC, and its founder, Mike Doyle, operate a map overlay for Google Maps that shows the cannabis status for every municipality in the state. Cannasigliere is a Rochester consulting firm “that specializes in providing individuals and groups across the state with the know-how to approach post-prohibition opportunities,” according to Doyle’s LinkedIn profile.

By the narrowest margin, a small Cortland County village has approved the retail sale and on-site consumption of marijuana. McGraw voters passed the issue by a single vote. The result in the Nov. 2 general election turned on the absentee ballots.

The margin exemplifies how narrowly divided some communities across the state have become toward the forthcoming legal cannabis marketplace.

New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act, which passed in March and legalized the recreational use and licensed sale of marijuana, provides each village, town and city across the state an opportunity to opt out of allowing retail dispensaries and . . .

Smithtown has opted out of a state law that would have legalized retail sales of marijuana, renouncing potential tax revenue from what some board members have called a "gateway drug."

The town board’s 5-0 vote Tuesday ended more than a month of deliberation, with most council members saying early on they were likely to vote to opt out. Islip, Shelter Island and Nissequogue Village earlier this year passed similar legislation. Brookhaven and Islip passed zoning restricting marijuana sales to industrial areas when the state’s law takes effect next year. Municipalities have until Dec. 31 to opt out, but they can . . .

Marijuana and psychedelics are on the ballot at the local and state level across the U.S. next month.

It might be an off-year election, but advocates and lawmakers have been hard at work pushing to get everything from local cannabis decriminalization to psychedelics reform on their ballots this cycle. That’s not to say that legalization activists necessarily support all the measures that will go before voters on November 2.

As congressional lawmakers fight to end federal marijuana prohibition and advocates continue to build support for psychedelics reform, there are numerous proposals that voters in states like Colorado, Michigan, Ohio . . .