Judge rescinds own cannabis restrictions

Narrows his ruling to ads, marketing

An Albany County Supreme Court judge who appeared this week to inadvertently strike down nearly all of New York’s adult-use cannabis regulations quietly walked back his ruling Friday morning.

Justice Kevin Bryant wrote in an amended order that he would void only a few specific regulations governing advertising and third-party marketing restrictions.

This follows Bryant’s Wednesday ruling that caused widespread confusion and shock within the cannabis industry.

Bryant wrote in this earlier order that all of New York’s adult-use cannabis regulations were void because they were enacted without due consideration of the evidence.

“Here, there is no indication that any evidence was actually placed before the administrative agency,” he wrote.

“It is not counsel’s role to develop and outline a rational argument in favor of the regulations after the fact.”

The company that had challenged the rules, a cannabis website called Leafly, was only targeting the marketing and advertising restrictions, which is why Bryant’s ruling caught many by surprise.

The Cannabis Association of New York sent out an e-mail blast warning that Bryant “appears to have struck down ALL OF THE ADULT USE REGS.”

But Friday’s correction, which was quietly posted to the court’s docket without acknowledging the changes, suggests that such a monumental result was never intended.

Regardless of the disruption, cannabis remains legal to possess and consumer in lawful quantities, as the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act was never affected by Bryant’s rulings.

That law, enacted in 2021, legalized cannabis and set off the process for creating a legal marketplace in New York.

Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can send him an email at astockler@lohud.com. Reach him securely: asher.stockler@protonmail.com.