ALBANY, N.Y. (WCBS 880) -- In another step aimed at moving adult-use marijuana sales forward in New York, the state Senate Wednesday confirmed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first nominees of her administration.
Tremaine Wright was confirmed Wednesday as the chair of New York’s Cannabis Control Board, while Christopher Alexander will be the executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management.
The confirmations were made during what Hochul has called an “extraordinary session” that is also aiming at extending the state’s eviction moratorium.
Hochul said the control board and management office will “create and implement a comprehensive regulatory framework for New York's cannabis industry, including the production, licensing, packaging, marketing and sale of cannabis products.”
The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, passed in March, is “one of the nation's most comprehensive and progressive legal frameworks for the regulation of the adult-use, medical and hemp industries,” said Hochul.
The governor said moves to get the cannabis industry up and running are overdue.
Wright is a former member of the state Assembly in New York’s 56th District, and is also an attorney and activist from Brooklyn.
Alexander is an advocate for criminal justice reform and policy expert from Hollis, Queens. He has in the past work for the New York Democratic Party. His background has aimed at ending the “War on Drugs.”