Similarities Between New York’s Alcohol Beverage Law and the Cannabis Law

In developing the adult-use component of its Cannabis Law, New York did not start from scratch. While legislators drew from legalization efforts in other states, there are some striking similarities with New York’s Alcohol Beverage Law.

	Alcohol Beverage Law	Cannabis Law
Multi-Tier System	Consists of three tiers: manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers	Consists of four tiers: cultivators, processors, distributors and retailers
Ownership Across Tiers	Manufacturers and wholesalers may not have any interest, whether direct or indirect, in any retailer and vice versa Notable exception: retail privileges are granted to craft manufacturers	Cultivators, processors and distributors may not have any interest, whether direct or indirect, in any retailer and vice versa Notable exception: registered organizations (i.e., medica dispensaries) and microbusiness have limited retail privileges
Proximity to Certain Buildings	No retail location may be within 200 ft. of any school or place of worship	No retail location may be located within 200 ft. of any place of worship or 500 ft. of any school
Municipality Notice	On-premises locations must provide notice to the municipality at least 30 days prior to ﬁling an application	All retail locations must provide notice to the municipality at least 30 days prior to ﬁling an application
Signage	No sign advertising any brand of liquor or wine is permitted on the exterior or interior of any off-premises location except as permitted by the State Liquor Authority	No sign advertising any brand is permitted on the exterior or interior of any retail dispensary except as permitted by the Cannabis Control Board
Gaming and Other Prohibited Activities	Gambling, ﬁghting, nudity, etc. are not permitted at any on-premises location	Gambling, ﬁghting, nudity, etc. are not permitted at any on-premises consumption location Additionally, gambling is not permitted at any retail dispensary

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