The mass expungement was part of a larger decriminalization bill signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo last July. Under this new bill, any New Yorker caught with two or fewer ounces of pot can be fined between $50 and $200, with no possibility of jail time. Minor pot possession is now classified as a civil infraction rather than a misdemeanor, which means that getting caught with a joint will no longer lead to a permanent criminal record.
The law also provides retroactive justice for individuals who were arrested for pot possession or use before 2019. Last August, the state expunged over 25,000 misdemeanor weed possession and consumption convictions from state criminal records, giving tens of thousands of New Yorkers a clean slate.
Unfortunately, due to a change in how the state handled weed offenses over time, the expungement law does not apply to anyone who was arrested before 1977. Before that year, pot offenses were classified differently under state law, and the language of the decriminalization bill failed to address this issue. Now, lawmakers have proposed a second bill to correct that error.
At the beginning of this month, State Senator Brian Benjamin (D) introduced a bill to amend the expungement law to include misdemeanors recorded prior to 1977. “This bill amends the criminal procedure law to ensure those convicted of certain lower level marijuana possession offenses prior to the creation of marijuana-specific offenses in 1977 are eligible to have their crimes automatically expunged,” the bill’s summary states.
The bill would accomplish this feat by making one simple change to the existing law. If passed, the new bill would replace the words “violation or violations” in the current law with “misdemeanor and/or violation.” This simple change would allow the state to expunge any minor cannabis crime, regardless of the date, effectively wiping the oldest existing weed offenses off the state’s records.
The bill passed the state Senate with a 41-19 vote last Wednesday and moved on to the state Assembly, who must also pass it before it can reach Cuomo’s desk for a signature.
New York has gradually been working toward full adult-use legalization since 2018, but conservative lawmakers and delays imposed by the coronavirus pandemic have derailed this effort indefinitely. In the meantime, pro-cannabis lawmakers are working to implement pot reform on a more modest level. Just this week, the state Senate also approved a bill that would prevent landlords from evicting tenants who use medical cannabis.
The state Assembly must still approve both of these reform bills for them to become law, but the state’s lower house is traditionally more cannabis-friendly than the state Senate, which used to be dominated by the Republican party until the most recent election.
Just three months ago, when Donald Trump seemed destined for a second term, the same business observers rated the prospect of 2020 weed reform “near-zero,” and “unlikely” even for 2021. That was then, of course, and a very different version of reality exists now.
A global pandemic; social upheaval triggered by police brutality; and a double-digit lead in the polls by presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, have reconfigured everything — including the potential for the US government to fast-track the onset of legal weed.
At least that’s what a team of analysts, led by John Zamparo of CIBC Capital Markets, seems to believe. “A fact that has become incredibly obvious from a chaotic 2020 is how quickly things can change,” Zamparo said. “We stand by our statement for 2020, but for 2021, well, when the facts change, we change our minds.”
Regulation that includes language for criminal justice reform will likely gain additional support thanks to a big push for anti-racism initiatives. People are also beginning to see cannabis as a saving grace from the economic fallout of COVID. The tax benefits from a newly legalized industry could help close budget gaps in states severely impacted by the pandemic.
Joe Lusardi, CEO of Curaleaf, one of the largest cannabis companies in the US, said he agrees that Dem dominance this November is a logical gateway to legalization.
“If the Democrats take the Senate or the White House, I think you’ll see sweeping cannabis reform very quickly,” Zamparo told Yahoo Finance. “It’s not a partisan issue — for sure we have support on both sides of the aisle — but I do think the Democratic leadership has shown a desire to pass cannabis legislation where the Republican leadership has not.”
Last week, the non-partisan Cook Political Report concluded that Democrats are favored to win back the Senate. That shift is expected to be crucial to weed reform, as previous attempts at bipartisan legislation have been repeatedly shot down by Republicans.
Lusardi stated that legalization will open up huge international business possibilities and profoundly upgrade the American experience with weed. “Our competition is the black market, full stop,” he said. “Ninety percent of cannabis transactions are still done through a drug dealer. Our goal is to create access to cannabis, do it safely, regulated, and taxed. I think if we do that, frankly, we’ll all be very successful.”
When I was working as an actor a few years ago, I booked the lead in a commercial for a CBD gum company. Picture this: a woman and her “husband” on the track at a local high school, chatting happily while taking laps. All of a sudden, the woman — me — has to stop jogging because of debilitating knee pain. Her happy, helpful husband pulls from his pocket a pack of CBD gum.
The woman is, of course, skeptical at first, but decides to try a piece. She expresses to the camera its minty fresh flavor, and two seconds later — TADA! She’s jogging again, miraculously cured by one piece of CBD gum.
In reality, the gum tasted terrible. After chewing several pieces over the several-hour shoot I had nothing but a headache. Granted, this was pre-CBD boom time and CBD gum was a practically unheard-of niche product. A few years later, the non-intoxicating cannabinoid has undergone growth seen by few industries, and is expected to expand to a global market worth $23.6 billion by 2025.
Today, CBD is showing up in nearly everything, from beerto coffee, from mocktails to topicals, and now, increasingly, gum. So, what’s the deal? Could CBD gum be an effective way to consume and receive the anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and other benefits of CBD?
What does CBD gum do??
Dr. Michele Ross is a former neuroscientist turned plant medicine expert, whose books include CBD Oil for Health: 100 Benefits and Vitamin Weed: a 4-Step Plan. Ross said that on a practical level, CBD gum could freshen breath, enhance oral health, and may help reduce appetite and burn more calories than non-gum chewers.
Your basic stick of sugar-free gum, however, doesn’t come with that extra CBD punch. “What’s different about CBD gum is how it’s absorbed. When you eat it [CBD] as a capsule or gummy, it’s getting digested and broken down through the liver,” said Ross. “When you eat it as gum, you’re releasing it through your cheek, so it’s getting absorbed sublingually and submucosally. It’s going directly into the bloodstream. When they say this is highly bioavailable, it actually is.”
That bioavailability could help increase CBD levels in the bloodstream, which may help promote relaxation and reduce stress.
However, the lack of federal oversight for the CBD industry leaves an opening for confusion about dosing and ingredients, and some companies seem to conflate hemp oil and CBD oil. Hemp oil — which is highly nutritious and beneficial for overall health — is extracted from the seeds of the cannabis plant. CBD, lauded for its anti-inflammatory, antianxiety, and ameliorative effects, is extracted from the flower, stalk and stem of the plant.
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While they come from the same species of plant, they are not the same thing. Fifty milligrams of hemp oil per serving is very different from seven milligrams of CBD oil per serving, while still costing roughly the same amount, around $15-20 per pack.
Ross points out that hemp is a bioremediator, meaning that it pulls contaminants, pollution, and other toxins from the air, water, and soil and stores it in its stalk. Essentially, any CBD is only as good as the ground it is grown in.
When choosing a CBD gum (or any CBD for that matter), Ross said there are several questions you should ask before purchasing. “Is it safe? Does it have heavy metal testing? Where does the CBD come from? If you are chewing enough gum with contaminants in it, it’s going straight into your bloodstream. In reality, you are being exposed to whatever is in that product when you chew it.”
Does CBD gum work?
Tobacco cessation product Nicorette is a perfect example of how a gum can be used for more than just blowing bubbles and work in a practical, medicinal way. “Nicorette gum is a prescription medicine, and CBD gum is, I’m sure, being explored as a medication,” said Ross. “It’s a valid route of administration. It’s all about dosing, and [asking], where does the CBD in that product come from?”
Ross said that depending on the dose available in each piece of gum, and your particular level of physiological need, CBD gum could be thought of in the same way as ingesting a CBD gummy or capsule. “If you’re anxious, CBD gum might help you feel relaxed, or feel calm. If you’re run down, stressed out, burned out, you might feel a bit better. If you are not stressed out, not in pain, and you’re a healthy person, you might not feel anything,” she added.
What sets CBD gum apart from something like a CBD tincture or edible is the positive role it could play in oral health overall. Ross points to some research showing that the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of CBD could be the next ingredient in toothpaste or mouthwash to help people combat gum diseases like periodontitis or gingivitis. “Some people, unfortunately, have a lot of oral health problems, for those consumers, I would definitely suggest CBD gum.”
3 CBD gums to try
There are a lot of CBD gum products out there, so to narrow the search, we’ve zeroed in products that make their third-party lab results easily accessible, are customer-friendly, and are a good quality product and value for the price.
This environmentally friendly company is differentiating itself from other companies in the space by avoiding the non-biodegradable polymers contained in other products. Endoca CBD Chewing Gum is 100 percent biodegradable and has no artificial colors or preservatives. It’s organic, gluten-free, vegan and GMO-free, and flavored with essential oils from mint and peppermint.
Elevate CBD Gum
Containing 5 milligrams of full-spectrum hemp extract per piece, Elevate CBD Gum is available in an 8 ounce tin or 20-serving bottle. Using hemp sourced from growers in the northeast region of the US, it is gluten-free, vegan, and lab-tested for potency, purity, quality, and safety.
MedCBDX CBD-Infused Chewing Gum
With about 10 milligrams of CBD from CO2 extracted hemp oil, MedCBDX CBD-Infused Chewing Gum is available in blister packs of eight and is mint flavored. At $17.99 per package, it seems to be on par with their counterparts, with an extra emphasis on bioavailability. What’s interesting about this company is that they will work with businesses to help them develop their own brand of CBD gum.
Warning: This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
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