Hochul asks lawmakers to confirm nominees to lead NY cannabis program

NEW YORK (WHEC) — Gov. Kathy Hochul called on lawmakers to confirm her nominees to the state’s cannabis board during a special session Wednesday afternoon.

Back in July, a five-person board would set the ground rules and regulations for growing and selling recreational marijuana. All appointees have to be approved by the New York State Senate.

Local State Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D-NY-56) says this is a long time coming.

"We’ve been waiting for a long time," Cooney said. "We get calls every day to our office saying, "I want to start growing. I want to open a business in Upstate New York… How do I do that? All of those answers can start to happen after today. Right now, in the legislation that we passed this spring, we empowered the governor to hire an executive director and the board for the Office of Cannabis Management, which will run this new adult-use recreational marijuana program. We have not been able to see a nominee to run this new agency. That changed under Gov. Hochul."

News10NBC will update this story once lawmakers come to a decision.