New York Approves Home Grows for Medical Cannabis Patients

Medical cannabis patients in New York will soon be allowed to grow their own cannabis under new rules decided during the second meeting of the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), WBFO reports. The board members also approved expunging more than 200,000 criminal records for offenses no longer illegal in the state under the adult-use law.

Home cultivation was included in the Legislature-approved bill earlier this year; however, it includes provisions barring home grows until retail sales are launched in the state.

Under the rules – which must still go through a 60-day public comment period which the OCM may adjust prior to them taking effect – registered patients may grow up to three immature and three mature plants per individual or up to six immature and six mature per household.

OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander said that the state is already withholding cannabis-related arrest records from background checks and that those charges will ultimately be expunged.

“When completed, the actions of these measures will have expunged the records of over 400,000 New Yorkers, a staggering reminder of the impact that cannabis prohibition had on so many.”—Alexander to WBFO

In 2019, the state had expunged some 198,000 cannabis-related criminal records even prior to the broad legalization reforms.

During their first meeting earlier this month, the board permanently waived the fee for medical cannabis patients and caregivers, made flower an approved form of medical cannabis in the state, and approved allowing patients to obtain a 60-day supply of medical cannabis instead of just one month.

Legal cannabis sales are expected in the Empire State sometime in 2022.