New York Smokes The Senate, Rolls Into The Weed Business

Here is one way Governor Cuomo could save you money in 2022. If you smoke weed you only have to drive all the way to Massachusetts for one more year. USA Today reports that the state senate voted Tuesday to make New York the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

Now that the legislation has passed, Governor Cuomo is expected to sign the measure that creates a regulatory system to oversee the cannabis industry. The plan is to have everything from huge grow operations to sidewalk cafes allowing outdoor marijuana smoking.

If you are 21 or older you will be able to buy weed legally about a year from now. In the meantime the state has to sort out, among other things, licensing for businesses. What the state will look to avoid is a monopoly.

According to the Daily News, the difference in New York versus other states that have legalized pot is that the New York bill would be created in a way that there couldn't be a monopoly on the industry. In other words growers will not be able to sell and sellers will not be able to grow.

CBS6 Albany reports, the goal is to give 50 percent of licenses to minority or women owned enterprises, distressed farmers or even disabled veterans. Monopoly! We have all played the board game at one time or another and each time we try to monopolize the property and bankrupt our opponents in order to win! When it comes to the game of weed, the state of New York is anything but fun and games.