An upstate elected official is coming for New Yorkers’ edibles.
Democratic Assemblymember Phil Steck – who voted in favor of recreational marijuana legalization in 2021 – wants to prohibit the distribution and sale of “any candy product containing THC, including, but not limited to chocolates and gummies,” according to a new bill he introduced to the state Assembly on Monday.
Steck, who represents parts of Albany County and nearby Schenectady County and chairs the Assembly’s committee on alcoholism and drug abuse, explained the proposed bill on Twitter.
“We did not sign up for libertarian, anything goes cannabis. Sorry,” he wrote, adding that while he supported marijuana legalization, he also wanted strong regulations in place that barred products that could appeal to kids, or were so strong they might “cause psychosis in some.”
The bill lacks a sponsor in the state Senate, meaning it currently has a slim shot of passing through the Legislature.
Steck didn’t return a request for additional comment on the legislation. Spokespeople for State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie likewise didn’t return requests for comment right away. Steck’s co-sponsor, Republican Keith Brown, who represents parts of Suffolk County, also didn’t return a request for comment.
Other states that legalized recreational marijuana have taken similar steps to clamp down on products that might entice children. Colorado, for example, banned weed candy in the shape of a “human, animal or fruit,” but carved out candies in “geometric shapes” or ones shaped like a marijuana leaf. New Jersey also initially banned pot brownies, cookies, candies or anything “resembling food," though certain types of gummies are still acceptable.
Lawmakers are concerned about marijuana products marketed toward children.
Edible marijuana, however, is a popular alternative for those concerned about the health effects of smoking or vaping.
New York legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, and the first legal weed dispensaries opened last December. While there are just three recreational legal dispensaries citywide, state and city officials have struggled to clamp down on hundreds of gray market dispensaries peddling unregulated marijuana products.
