March 28, 2021
Following from Marcy Savage, our amazing government relations consultant from Reid, McNally and Savage.
Dear Lauri,
Attached is the final language of the legislation for the 3 way Adult Use Cannabis deal. (Two documents attached.)
Also attached (and below) is the section of the bill discussing how medical cannabis trust fund will be spent including 5% to OASAS as it is currently doing, along with how the new revenue from the NYS Cannabis Fund will be spent including 20% for the NYS Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund, after funds are dispersed for management of the new Office of Cannabis Management & Control Board, Department of Tax & Finance and Department of Criminal Justice, and other state agencies including SUNY for required studies. It further calls for OASAS to issue a written annual report by February of each year on the dispersal of monies per this new Fund.
P118-119
§ 99-jj. New York state drug treatment and public education fund. 1.
56 There is hereby established in the joint custody of the state comp-
1 troller and the commissioner of taxation and finance a special fund to
2 be known as the “New York state drug treatment public education fund”.
3 2. Such fund shall consist of revenues received pursuant to the
4 provisions of section ninety-nine-ii of this article and all other
5 moneys credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or source
6 pursuant to law. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the
7 state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the
8 fund as defined in this section and depositing them into the fund
9 according to law.
10 3. The moneys in such fund shall be expended to the commissioner of
11 the office of addiction services and supports and disbursed, in consul-
12 tation with the commissioner of the department of health, the office of
13 mental health, the office of cannabis management and the commissioner of
14 education for the following purposes:
15 (a) Reasonable costs incurred, subject to available appropriations, by
16 the office of addiction services and supports, to administer funds in
17 accordance with the allowable uses in paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e)
18 of this subdivision.
19 (b) To develop and implement a youth-focused public health education
20 and prevention campaign, including school-based prevention, early inter-
21 vention, and health care services and programs to reduce the risk of
22 cannabis and other substance use by school-aged children;
23 (c) To develop and implement a statewide public health campaign
24 focused on the health effects of cannabis and legal use, including an
25 ongoing education and prevention campaign that educates the general
26 public, including parents, consumers and retailers, on the legal use of
27 cannabis, the importance of preventing youth access, the importance of
28 safe storage and preventing secondhand cannabis smoke exposure, informa-
29 tion for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and the overconsumption of
30 edible cannabis products;
31 (d) To provide substance use disorder treatment programs for youth and
32 adults, with an emphasis on programs that are culturally and gender
33 competent, trauma-informed, evidence-based and provide a continuum of
34 care that includes screening and assessment (substance use disorder as
35 well as mental health), early intervention, active treatment, family
36 involvement, case management, overdose prevention, prevention of commu-
37 nicable diseases related to substance use, relapse management for
38 substance use and other co-occurring behavioral health disorders, voca-
39 tional services, literacy services, parenting classes, family therapy
40 and counseling services, medication-assisted treatments, psychiatric
41 medication and psychotherapy; and
42 (e) To evaluate the programs being funded to determine their effec-
43 tiveness.