The beginning.
At the close of 2018, following the passage of the U.S. Farm Bill that legalized hemp, my friend Alfonse D’Amato called me with an urgent directive: “JoeJoe, learn everything you can about CBD. Write it down! C.B.D.!”
Shortly thereafter, a mutual friend introduced me to New York’s leading authority on CBD and hemp extracts, Allan Gandelman. By January 2019, Allan, myself, and a dedicated team set to work drafting a Hemp Extract bill in Albany under the advocacy organization Allan had founded. Through a labyrinth of challenges, setbacks, and triumphs, the legislation successfully passed both the New York State Assembly and Senate. By the end of 2019, Governor Cuomo signed it into law. It created the first hemp extract regulations in the nation.
The advancement of frameworks.
Then, in 2021, New York took a historic step forward with the passage of the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA), officially legalizing cannabis. Governor Cuomo signed the bill into law on March 31st, marking a moment that must have felt akin to the end of Prohibition.
Allan Gandelman and I continued our work with the state, helping to establish a 280E state tax reform and successfully advocating for the repeal and replacement of the state’s THC potency tax.
As the regulatory framework took shape in 2022, I lobbied for the approval of botanical terpenes in cannabis products—a crucial step in expanding product innovation and consumer choice.
The current state.
By 2024, Governor Hochul publicly declared the state’s cannabis rollout a “disaster.” I had long been vocal about the harm inflicted on New York’s pioneering legal growers and processors—many of whom had become close friends. The Governor’s review of the Office of Cannabis Management led to a full reassessment of dispensary license applications from New Yorkers who had secured retail locations. The decision set the stage for meaningful progress.
At the end of 2024, I collaborated with state officials and legislators to secure a waiver for the seed-to-sale tracking fee as the industry transitioned to the BioTrack system—an essential move to support businesses navigating an already complex regulatory landscape.
The next five years will bring a continued growth of dispensaries, which in turn will grow the supply chain to supply those stores. Yet, cannabis is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the eyes of the United States government.
There is a lot more to do. And I am here for all of it.
