Now That Marijuana Is Legal In NYC, Here's What Happens Next

NEW YORK CITY — Let's be honest — marijuana wasn't hard to come by in New York City before it became legal.

Sometimes sweet, sometimes skunky smoke wafted up from the city's stoops, parks and everywhere else New Yorkers could find to not-so-sneakily toke up.

Decriminalization of weed in 2019 took away some worry about marijuana arrests — unless you were Black or Brown. And medical marijuana has become more prevalent in the city.

Even Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged marijuana is "ubiquitous" in the city.

"The notion of it being illegal, but widespread simultaneously is, you know, yet another kind of ‘don't ask, don't tell’ that doesn't make sense," he recently told NY1's Errol Louis. "It is much saner to legalize with smart standards in terms of encouraging health and safety."

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So, in many ways, legalization of recreational marijuana isn't as momentous for New York City as it would be for, say, South Dakota.

But that's not to say legal weed won't significantly change the city — the big question, even after the passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, is how exactly it'll work.

Here are some questions answered for the 420-friendly and curious.

What are the basics?

Adults who are 21 and up can smoke or otherwise consume cannabis and possess up to 3 ounces.

New Yorkers with marijuana-related convictions that are no longer illegal will have their records expunged.

And businesses can apply for licenses to sell recreational marijuana, grow it or set up "consumption lounges."

Great! Then where can I buy it?

Here's where things get tricky.

Selling marijuana without a state license — like, say, at Washington Square Park or doing at-home deliveries — is still illegal under the law. Not that the law has stopped weed dealing and buying before, but just putting it out there.

But, still, anything below 3 ounces falls short of a misdemeanor.

The issue is that licenses for legal dispensaries to sell weed won't be granted overnight.

Michael McQueeny, a counsel at Foley Hoag LLP who works in cannabis law, said New York's legalization law simply didn't put a timetable as to when those licenses will be granted.

McQueeny estimated it will be at least nine months, perhaps up to two years, before New Yorkers can lawfully go out and buy cannabis in the new adult-use marketplace.

"This is what I call the 'hurry up and wait phase,'” he said.

That's a bummer, man. Why isn't the law more clear?

Good question.

The short answer is lawmakers crafted a bill that immediately made recreational marijuana legal but punted bigger decisions about how New York's weed industry will operate down the line, McQueeny said.

Many, if not most, of those decisions will be made by a new Office of Cannabis Management. The office's board members will ultimately shape regulations that aren't baked into the law.

“What that tells me is the legislature is kind of liberating the control board to say we’re not telling you when to open up, we just want you to get it right,” McQueeny said.

But the law does provide hints as to what New York City's weed scene will look like, and it appears to be good news for future mom-and-pop pot shops.

McQueeny said the law generally forbids cannabis businesses from holding multiple types of licenses — a major weed grower can't also run dispensaries, for example. He said that aims to diversify the marketplace and free up space for smaller businesses.

"I think the sense that we get from the legislation that this isn’t the type of marketplace that will be dominated by the largest cannabis operators,” he said."

De Blasio has said he wants to avoid corporations or big businesses from dominating cannabis businesses in New York City.

"And that's what we're going to work on," he said. "And we also want to make sure that there's as much local discretion as possible on issues like citing. That that's still up in the air, honestly."

Now, of course, de Blasio's term could run out before those decisions are made. New York City and other municipalities also have nine months if they want to opt out of retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses, so it's conceivable that city lawmakers may try to keep those marijuana businesses out of the Big Apple.

But as McQueeny notes, the law won't allow local governments to ban businesses or people from growing marijuana.

What about smoking? Does the law say where I can light up?

Smoking cannabis now falls under the state's clean indoor air act, which effectively makes it legal to smoke anywhere it's legal to smoke tobacco.

That means New Yorkers can legally smoke weed outside, although it should be noted it's illegal to smoke tobacco in the city's parks.

City dwellers can also smoke in their homes, with some notable exceptions. The biggest is NYCHA homes, which as federal projects still ban marijuana.

McQueeny said this is where a new concept — "consumption lounges" — comes in. He said other states have approved businesses and spaces that allow marijuana use, but none have put them into practice.

New York's marijuana law, however, stresses "equity" when it comes to using marijuana, he said.

If people — like, say, NYCHA residents — have a right to consume cannabis and no place to lawfully consume it, then they need access and opportunity to do so, he said.

“I know that’s one of the drivers of what these consumption lounges are,” he said.

So expect a new kind of 420-friendly business to potentially rise in New York City.