In the Press
January 31, 2024

New York’s Legal Pot Rollout Targeted In Lawsuit Claiming Anti-White Bias (Forbes)

Professionals

A cannabis venture owned by white men sued the state of New York this week alleging its legal cannabis program is discriminatory because it seeks to prioritize minority- and women-owned businesses and communities affected by marijuana's criminalization, becoming one of two new lawsuits seeking to change the rollout of the state's long-delayed legalization effort. Brett Schuman, co-chair of the Cannabis practice, mentioned that the two lawsuits filed this week feature some contradictory points—one alleging discrimination favoring women and the other raising questions about the basis of a policy that gave less favor to women specifically. “Both things can’t be right. Both could be wrong though,” he told Forbes. “New York is basically uninvestable”. His clients within the cannabis industry are “very frustrated” by the state’s inability to launch a legal weed market and wary about investing in the state.