New York is set to crack down on the explosion of cannabis-based drinks illegally sold in local grocery stores, with a top state official warning the current situation is “a real disaster waiting to happen.”
Chelsea Davis, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s deputy secretary for Gaming, Cannabis and Alcohol, said Wednesday that the “black market” peddling of CBD drinks is “untenable” — a sign that the issue will likely be on the governor’s priority list for next year’s legislative session in Albany.
“I think it’s a real public-health risk and a real disaster waiting to happen,” Davis said while speaking on a panel about alcohol policy hosted by City & State.
The unregulated sale of the weed drinks in grocery stores and bodegas is happening despite New York law clearly requiring a specific license to sell them.
The Post previously found them for sale at unlicensed delis and grocery stores this past summer after Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal called on state regulators to get involved.
“I think this status quo is completely untenable,” Davis said, alluding to a potential push next year in Albany to curb the unlicensed sale of the drinks.
“I do think those beverages are cannibalizing our cannabis dispensaries which are really holding up this still young nascent industry,” she said.
A last-minute push in Albany this year to allow liquor stores to sell cannabis drinks never got passed.
Policymakers in Albany were hesitant to act since federal lawmakers in Washington were enacting a ban on the drinks set to go into effect in November but which as since been delayed to December.
“The marketplace has moved faster than the law,” Cannabis policy source Joe Rossi told The Post, acknowledging the disjointed legislative landscape.
“Consumers see a THC drink; they don’t see the regulatory distinction between hemp-derived THC and cannabis. That disconnect creates real challenges for regulators, businesses and, most importantly, consumers.”
THC is the component in pot that can make people high. Hemp is a cannibis plant that doesn’t have enough THC to typically produce a high, while marijuana does. Not all cannabis drinks can make you high.
State lawmakers have already proposed legislation that would clearly allow liquor stores to sell THC drinks after receiving a permit.
