Res. No. 883
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.1244/A.1587 and S.7275A/A.5341A restricting the location of cannabis storefronts and cannabis advertising in relation to school grounds, playgrounds, child day care providers, public parks, houses of worship and libraries.
By Council Members Brooks-Powers, Lee, Louis and Banks
Whereas, Adolescent cannabis use can have permanent effects on the developing brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and
Whereas, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that, in 2022, more than 30 percent of 12th graders reported using cannabis in the past year and over 6 percent reported using cannabis daily in the past 30 days; and
Whereas, Evidence suggests that the use of cannabis among New York City youth has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, with an 8 percent increase in reports of “controlled substances” and drug paraphernalia found on students at school in 2023 compared to the same period in 2019, despite an 11 percent decrease in the K-12 student population during that time, according to Chalkbeat; and
Whereas, The American Psychological Association reports that numerous studies, including an analysis by the U.S. Surgeon General, have found that viewing advertising of tobacco and alcohol has a substantial influence on children’s attitudes towards these substances and contributes to youth smoking and drinking; and
Whereas, In 2021, New York State enacted the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”) to regulate legal marijuana sales; and
Whereas, MRTA prohibits cannabis retail licensees and on-site consumption licensees from operating at a location within 500 feet of a school grounds and 200 feet of a house of worship; and
Whereas, The measurement of the distance from a school grounds or house of worship for the purposes of cannabis retail licensing starts from the front or main door of the building, not the perimeter, and does not account for mixed use buildings, potentially allowing a cannabis dispensary or consumption lounge to open across the street or down the block from a school or house of worship, depending on the location; and
Whereas, MRTA prohibits the advertising and marketing of licensed cannabis and any cannabis products or services from any location that is readily observed within five hundred feet of the perimeter of a school grounds, playground, child day care provider, public park, or library; and
Whereas, State Senate Bill S.1244, introduced by State Senator Joseph Addabbo and pending in the New York State Senate, and its companion bill A.1587, introduced by Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato and pending in the New York State Assembly, would ensure that a cannabis dispensary could not open close to a school by expanding the minimum distance from 500 feet to 1,000 feet; and
Whereas S.1244/A.1587 would also increase the minimum distance between an on-site cannabis consumption lounge and a school grounds from 500 feet to 1,000 feet and clarify that the distance should be measured from the perimeter of the school grounds; and
Whereas, S.1244/A.1587 would increase the minimum distance required between cannabis advertising and marketing and the perimeter of a school grounds, playground, child day care provider, public park, or library from 500 feet to 1,000 feet; and
Whereas, State Senate Bill S.7275A, introduced by State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and pending in the New York State Senate, and its companion bill A.5341A, introduced by Assembly Member John Zaccaro, Jr. and pending in the New York State Assembly, would clarify that, for purposes of the proximity requirement, all entrances and exits are taken into account for those schools or houses of worship located in a mixed use building; and
Whereas, S.1244/A.1587 and S.7275A/A.5341A would decrease the likelihood that New York City students encounter cannabis retail, consumption and advertising when attending school or houses of worship; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.1244/A.1587 and S.7275A/A.5341A restricting the location of cannabis storefronts and cannabis advertising in relation to school grounds, playgrounds, child day care providers, public parks, houses of worship and libraries.
NEM
LS 19384
5/28/2025 1:26pm