New York Judge Overturns Adult-Use Cannabis Advertising Rules

In a significant legal development, the Albany County Supreme Court has struck down a number of New York State's regulations governing adult-use cannabis, particularly those pertaining to marketing and advertising. Justice Kevin Bryant deemed the rules, which restricted licensed cannabis retailers from advertising on third-party platforms and providing accurate pricing information, as arbitrary, capricious, and unconstitutionally vague. The court's decision was in response to a lawsuit filed by Leafly Holdings Inc., a cannabis information website, and other petitioners against the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

The invalidated regulations had prohibited cannabis businesses from engaging in paid marketing and sharing pricing details through platforms not owned by the dispensary itself. The court ruled that these limitations violated the petitioners' right to free speech. The OCM had spent two years developing these now-overturned rules, and the decision raises questions about the future regulatory landscape for New York's cannabis industry. This ruling could pave the way for a broader reevaluation of the state's approach to cannabis regulation and has left cannabis operators facing uncertainty about the implications for their marketing and business operations.