New York’s ban on pot ads struck down as violation of free speech
NY Post
New York’s struggling legal pot industry has been thrown into turmoil yet again after a judge issued a ruling striking down state rules banning cannabis advertising and marketing as a violation of commerce and free speech.
The same Albany judge, Kevin Bryant, last summer struck down other Cannabis Control Board rules as illegal for providing convicted potheads preference in obtaining licenses over disabled vets and other applicants.
The legal woes last year froze the licensing and opening of new cannabis shops for months while the number of unlicensed marijuana shops sprouted across the city and state like weeds.
In a withering 13-page ruling issued Wednesday, Bryant said the Office of Cannabis Management issued regulations outlawing promotions and marketing on third-party platforms without evidence backing them up, all but saying the edicts came out of thin air.
“There is nothing in the record to establish precisely how OCM developed the regulations,” Bryant said.
“This court must find that the conclusion was arbitrary and capricious and that there is no substantial basis in the record to support respondents [OCM’s] action. The regulations are unconstitutional violations of petitioners’ free speech rights.”
