ALBANY – On September 9th, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins announced the appointment of former State Senator Jen Metzger as the Senate’s appointee to the Cannabis Control Board. Metzger is a former New York State Senator from the 42nd District, after having served extensively in local government and as a community advocate.
“I am proud to appoint my friend and former colleague, Jen Metzger, to the Cannabis Control Board,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “She is a time-tested public servant whose skills will be crucial in addressing the many aspects of this legislation and ensuring that New Yorkers have the fair and equitable adult-use marijuana market they deserve. I look forward to her leadership during this historic process.”
Senator Liz Krueger, sponsor of the MRTA, said, “I am thrilled that my former colleague Jen Metzger will be joining the Cannabis Control Board. Jen understands well the challenges and opportunities involved in building a thriving cannabis industry in New York State. She understands the need to create a market that provides opportunities for New York’s small farmers, encourages sustainable, environmentally-sound agricultural practices, and ensures equity and market access for the communities that suffered the most under prohibition. I look forward to working with Jen to make New York State’s program a model for the rest of the country.”
Jen Metzger said, “I am honored to have been selected by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to serve on the Cannabis Control Board. New York is entering a new chapter with legalized adult-use marijuana that has been a long time in the making for our state. I look forward to ensuring this market is environmentally sustainable, equitable, and accountable so that New Yorkers can enjoy fair access to both the product and to the new economic opportunities it offers. I’m excited for the work ahead.”
Former Senator Metzger has spent her career fighting for greater environmental protection, advocating for small farms, and ensuring that her constituents have improved access to healthcare and broadband services. Metzger was an active member of the Senate’s workgroup on the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), and led efforts in the State Legislature to create a permanent ban on fracking, passed as part of the budget in 2020. She chaptered nine bills in her two-year tenure, and as Chair of the Agriculture Committee successfully enacted nation-leading legislation creating a framework for the production, processing, and sale of hemp and CBD products.
Under the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA), the Cannabis Control Board is primarily responsible for creating the regulations for each of the cannabis programs, granting licenses, as well as revoking them upon violation, regulating the packaging and advertising of cannabis products, and overseeing the issuance of certain special permits.
The Board plays an important role in monitoring the rollout and implementation of cannabis in New York State. In an effort to ensure the market remains fair and open, the Board will also have the power to review all licensees two years into the program, to determine whether any one licensee has gained a large control of the industry and is undermining the aim of providing socially equitable business opportunities. As home cultivation of adult cannabis will be permitted, the Board will also be tasked with issuing regulations to prevent unsafe growing practices.
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