Kathy Hochul swears by the legal cannabis industry

With former Governor Andrew Cuomo stepping down and new Governor Kathy Hochul taking office, the legal marijuana industry in New York could soon be moving much faster. Hochul has vowed to kickstart the state's legal marijuana industry, which had stalled under Cuomo. Getting the marijuana sales program underway is a high priority for the governor. Cuomo has neither appointed a director for the new Office of Cannabis Management nor named the members of the Cannabis Control Board, despite the fact that the Law on Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana was passed months ago. The Senate must confirm the appointments. These appointments are vital as they are necessary to establish and approve new rules and licenses for companies and employees in the emerging marijuana industry. "Appointing and sustaining individuals with diverse levels of experience and expertise who are representative of communities across the state to the Cannabis Control Council is a priority for Governor Hochul," the new governor's spokesperson Jordan Bennett told The Post. "We look forward to working with the legislature to drive this process forward," said the Hochul spokesman. Hochul has spoken to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins ​​(D-Yonkers) and Congregation Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) about pushing cannabis appointments. "They talked about the need to fill the board," said Mike Murphy, a spokesman for Stewart Cousins. Heastie said the governor considers implementing the marijuana program a priority during a private meeting he attended Tuesday with the new governor and Stewart cousins. "She said this was something we should all focus on - and we agreed," said Heastie. Under the new law, New York will impose a 13 percent excise tax on marijuana sales, 9 percent of which will go to the state and 4 percent to local authorities.