With the growing trend toward legalization of marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes, New York companies should carefully evaluate their workplace policies to adhere to the latest legal developments impacting employees.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2017 legislative agenda, as reported by the press on Jan. 12, 2017, proposed lessening the penalties for recreational marijuana use.1 In 1977, New York state decriminalized private marijuana possession, which made possession by private users a violation, not a criminal offense,2 while marijuana possession by a user in public view is a misdemeanor. Under current state law, private users caught with small amounts of marijuana for the first time receive a fine akin to a parking ticket but are not criminally charged.
