Cannabis Event 101: Hosting a Cannabis event in New York
New York may be one of the more progressive states in the country, but they’ve still got some work ahead of them when it comes to cannabis and cannabis events. New York does currently have a legal medical cannabis program, but it is very limited and access is considered to be correlated with wealth and socioeconomic status. “[New York’s Medical Program] might as well not even exist. It’s very inaccessible for those without means,” Lindsey Adler of the Women’s Cannabis Club NYC quipped sarcastically.
As for recreational cannabis, New York is the epitome of “grey area”. There is no legal adult use cannabis, nor legal means of acquiring cannabis for non-medical uses, but cannabis possession under 25 grams is decriminalized, and authorities in many cities in New York have much bigger issues to tackle than busting you for a joint.
“In NYC, police are a little more preoccupied with other things. They are not coming to a house to check your joint to make sure it is hemp but if your neighbors are complaining or you’re in public and they stop you, [the police] will check it,” explains Liv Vasquez, cannabis event planner at Livviesmalls.
Due to this grey area, the cannabis events held in New York range from informative and educational events focused on hemp and CBD, to underground sesh & swap events similar to Prop 215 farmer’s markets in California. The laws in New York continue to change, especially surrounding food and beverage infusions, even if they only involve CBD.
Hosting Events:
According to New York Law, the only legal cannabinoid-containing products that you can have outside of medical laws are hemp-derived options. Events that are open to the public are usually informational in nature and focused on professional networking and education, while private events may dabble in the consumption side by offering CBD and hemp options with their yoga, dinners, or as part of gift bags. As neither public consumption nor recreational use is legal, consumption events are largely held under the guise of the grey market, especially if there may be products available to attendees. Similarly, poly consumption isn’t an issue because of the lack of legal consumption laws. This results in many events like those hosted by big name cannabis brands offering cocktails and other alcoholic beverages rather than cannabis and avoids vendors risking liquor licenses as they might in other states.
The state laws do allow for medical-only events. These are often held by dispensaries but largely focus on information rather than consumption. Some event organizers will offer medical screenings on site to allow patients to get a recommendation from a certified physician that allows them to access medical only events. For the most part, “sesh”-style events and patient markets (where donations are given or purchases for ancillary items qualify for free products) are held in secret, underground and marketed privately. These events are even trickier to market than their legal counterparts which rely primarily on email newsletters and social media and are still struggling to adapt to changing platform rules surrounding cannabis marketing.
New York Cannabis Event Quick Facts:
Working with Licensed Brands
While there are more than 30 dispensaries that are currently open in New York, the restrictive nature of recommendations and qualifying for a medical card leave many without access or interaction with these brands. Due to the relative newness of the cannabis market in New York, most licensed brands aren’t focused on events and steer clear of anything consumption-related or that might imply questionable legal activity.
“Licensed brands are tight on cash and they don’t really connect with [casual] consumers,” explains Vernon Avery of NY’s MMJ Survey. “The best way to work with them is to tell them that you will promote their involvement and association with your event. This makes you look more official and you can send people in the direction of those dispensaries.”
EventHi’s Advice:
Our best advice is to play it safe when it comes to cannabis events in NY. While the underground cannabis scene is alive and well, there are plenty of inherent risks to throwing a sesh or grey area market, and the risks of getting caught often outweigh the benefit of the experience that organizers are looking to curate. Stick to educational events if you’re intending to host in public and “Just play it safe with Hemp-derived CBD [products].” says Cynthia Salarizadeh, Founder of AxisWire and Co-Founder of Green Market Media. Make sure to restrict sampling and onsite sales to hemp-derived offerings only.
“It’s also a good idea to have lab tests on hand for anything hemp-derived in case it is called into question,” Vasquez explains. “We brought one of the growers from Portland to our event in New York and they had big jars of gorgeous flower. They were just handing it out and people were blown away and freaking out. And we could say, ‘Here’s the test results’ sitting next to it all’”.
If you’re hosting a private party or event, we still recommend sticking to hemp-derived options (especially if it is not a medical-only event) to avoid legal issues, but you may feel more comfortable pushing your personal boundaries in these settings knowing personal use and possession is decriminalized. Always make sure to check for specific laws in your event’s area as well as any policies that the venue might have surrounding the event.
“When it comes to event planning in new york, the biggest challenge is always finding a venue and the costs associated with a venue,” explains Kristin Jordan, Lawyer for Greenspoon Marder LP and founder of The Maze Calendar. “NYC is much more progressive, but upstate tends to be much more conservative [when it comes to hosting cannabis events], certainly Long Island. Additionally, Avery and Vasquez both brought up the struggle of finding a well-ventilated venue that doesn’t draw ire from neighbors, a big problem for events looking to avoid unwanted attention, especially with New York’s Citizen app, which empowers citizens to report crimes, fires and other potential causes for concern.
If you’re considering hosting a cannabis event in New York, the EventHi team is here to help. We offer a safe-hosting environment for event creators across the United States to host, promote and sell tickets using EventHi’s platform. Let EventHi help you through the process. Get started by hosting your event today on EventHi’s marketplace.
Written by Ben Owens, writer for EventHi.
- The above information is provided as a public service. It is not intended as legal advice.
