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New York Moving Forward With Legal Marijuana New York Moving Forward With Legal Marijuana

Potential retailers are eyeing the benefits of legal marijuana in New York

By Michael Hegarty

Michael Hegarty: The next step in the process of legalizing recreational marijuana in New York is to work toward licensing those eager to be involved in the program. Once this happens, the state may start to see an extreme boost to the economy.

Jim Charon: “Farmers, producers, distributors, manufacturers, you have micro-businesses, retailers and you’re also gonna have adult consumption locations. So you’re gonna have all these places that are gonna be opening up.”

Michael Hegarty: Retailers like Syracuse Hemporium will work with the other sectors throughout New York in order to grow from CBD and Hemp products to also include recreational marijuana. Since each sector is responsible for different parts of the program, retailers like Charon will have to get their supply from distributors and producers inside the state.

Jim Charon: “Being that you can only get products from New York, yes, you have to work together, that’s what’s gonna build and bring New York back up again.”

Michael Hegarty: While Charon is very optimistic about the growth New York will get from marijuana, it is not a guarantee.

New York legislators are estimating revenue to eventually reach 350 million dollars annually.

But in other states we have seen these estimates to be a little too high. According to Tax Foundation the difference in Potential Tax Revenue that states could be getting and the revenue they’re actually getting is apparent in some states with legal recreational marijuana.

In Massachusetts the difference is over 162 million dollars over three years.

In Oregon the difference is almost 50 million dollars over three years.

So we’ll have to wait and see how things play out with recreational marijuana in New York.

Reporting for N-C-C News, I’m Michael Hegarty

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) –  New York has legalized recreational marijuana for adults over 21. As of now, it is legal to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana, the next step of the process is getting businesses involved in the industry.  Jim Charon, owner of Syracuse Hemporium, is ready to get in on the recreational marijuana market and thinks that it offers a chance to boost the New York economy.

“Farmers, producers, distributors, manufacturers – you have micro-businesses, retailers and you’re also going to have adult consumption location,” Charon said. “So you’re going to have all these places that are going to be opening up.”

Retailers like Syracuse Hemporium will work with other sectors throughout New York in order to expand from CBD and Hemp products to include recreational marijuana. Since each sector is responsible for different parts of the program, retailers like Charon will have to get their supply from distributors and producers inside the state. He said that this network will strengthen New York.

“Being that you can only get products from New York, yes, you have to work together,” Charon said. “That’s what’s going to build and bring New York back up again.”

Charon is very optimistic about the growth New York will get from marijuana, but it is not a guarantee. According to a press release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York legislators are estimating revenue to eventually reach $350 million annually, but this number is not a sure-fire figure.

In other states, some of the estimates have been exaggerated, and the programs fall short of the revenue they could be making. According to Tax Foundation, the difference in potential tax revenue that states could be getting and the revenue they are actually getting is quite large when it comes to recreational marijuana.

In Massachusetts, the difference is over $162 million over three years with a potential revenue of around $214 million and actual revenue of only $51 million. In Oregon, the difference is almost $50 million over three years with a potential revenue of $183 million and actual revenue of only $133 million.

The process for retailers like Charon to start selling recreational marijuana products is not complete, so it will take time to see how much tax revenue New York will get from the recreational marijuana business.

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