Recently, President Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law. In response, the organizations and businesses of the National Cannabis Industry Association’s (NCIA) New York Social Equity Roundtable have submitted a letter to Governor Hochul (D-NY) strongly urging her to extend a pardon to all individuals who have been convicted of cannabis offenses under New York State law, including ordering the release of all nonviolent cannabis prisoners who are currently detained in the state.
Since early 2022, NCIA has been conducting an ongoing roundtable discussion, consisting of multiple national- and New York-based cannabis social equity and industry organizations to assess the state’s proposed rules and regulations and provide feedback related to issues affecting potential social equity operators. The roundtable’s goal is to provide sensible and workable regulations that keep diversity, inclusion, and social equity at the center of the opportunities presented in New York State. The full text of the Roundtable’s open letter is available below.
Pardons Letter to the New York Governor
November 1, 2022
Dear Honorable Governor Hochul,
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) has been conducting an ongoing roundtable discussion, consisting of multiple National and New York based cannabis social equity and industry organizations to assess and provide feedback regarding rules and regulations. Including: Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM), Social Equity Committee Co-Chairs of NYC/Hudson Valley Cannabis Industry Association (NYCCIA/HVCIA), NYC NORML, Black and Brown Economic Power in Cannabis (BB EPIC), JustUS Foundation, Unified Legacy Operators Council (UNLOC), Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), The People’s Ecosystem (TPE), Etain, legacy operators, and social equity cannabis business owners. Our roundtable’s goal is to provide sensible and workable regulations that keep diversity, inclusion, and social equity at the center of the opportunities presented in New York State.
In light of President Biden’s pardoning of some people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, the organizations and businesses of our roundtable strongly urge you to extend a pardon to all individuals who have been convicted of cannabis offenses under New York State law, including ordering the release of all nonviolent cannabis prisoners who are currently detained in the state of New York.
This great state has the opportunity to be a strong leader in redressing the harms of the War on Drugs and by taking this first step, New York can be a beacon to the rest of the country. To simply follow suit with the President’s pardon would squander the opportunity to release all those impacted by New York’s own War on Drugs and continue to exclude many of those impacted.
In carrying out these pardons, New York will be taking action that is aligned with the spirit of MRTA’s intent. For your pardons to achieve their intended impact the state should: formally recognize and apologize for the impact of its “stop and frisk” policies; meaningfully engage cannabis social equity and justice organizations; invest in
re-integrating and remediating the harms of prohibition on communities and individuals; and set meaningful and realistic timeframes to truly right the wrongs of its past. These actions, in addition to the pardon of all nonviolent cannabis offenses, will put the state of New York back on the path of doing right by all of its people.
Respectfully,
Mike Lomuto
National Cannabis Industry Association Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
