Cuomo offers delivery option in amended adult-use cannabis proposal

ALBANY — New Yorkers could soon get legal weed delivered to their door.

The Empire State is one step closer to approving adult use marijuana after Gov. Cuomo released an amended version of his pot proposal Tuesday that would reduce criminal penalties for illegal sales, outlines how some of the tax revenue would be spent and allows for the delivery of cannabis products.

The governor, who has been at odds with the Legislature over how the state will use tax money collected on cannabis sales, is pitching a $100 million social equity fund targeting communities disproportionately impacted by enforcement of the state’s drug laws.

“As we work to reimagine, rebuild, and reopen New York, we’re taking every opportunity to address and correct decades of institutional wrongs to build back better than ever before,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Efforts to approve adult use marijuana have repeatedly stalled in the Empire State over the past three years as Democrats in the Legislature sought to set aside a larger portion of potential tax revenue for minority neighborhoods and the governor wanted the state to retain control of the funds.

The biggest change to Cuomo’s new cannabis plan is the inclusion of delivery options.

According to the governor’s office, the permitting of delivery services is “a way to open up access to this new industry even further so more New Yorkers can participate as it grows.”

Counties and local governments would have the opportunity to opt out from delivery services.

Cuomo’s latest equity plan would see the Department of State allocate the funding, through grants administered by Empire State Development Corp., via block grants.

Nonprofits and local governments could apply for the funding to pay for community programs for job placement and skill services, adult education, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, housing and other services.

“We know that you cannot overcome a problem without first admitting there is one. Our comprehensive approach to legalizing and regulating the adult-use cannabis market provides the opportunity to generate much-needed revenue, but it also enables us to directly support the communities most impacted by the war on drugs by creating equity and jobs at every level, in every community in our great state,” Cuomo said.