NY Lawmakers Deciding if Pizzerias & Other Eateries Can Sell Cannabis Infused Grub

By: Jack Herrera

Imagine ordering pizza even before you get “the munchies”. “New York State officials are weighing whether to allow pizzerias and other eateries to sell fresh cannabis-infused grub and packaged pot edibles,” according to The New York Post.

Aaron Ghitelman, a spokesman for the state Office of Cannabis Management, confirmed there have been discussions about awarding such licenses to food preparers — raising the possibility of offerings such as pesto pot pizza or pepperoni with sweet weed sauce. However, “the regulations regarding infused food products have not been released yet,” Ghitelman stressed to The New York Post.

The Empire State passed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana last year, and the first licenses to sell weed will be issued in the fall, with sales in neighborhood stores to begin by the end of 2022. Carl Campanile writes, “ State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), a key architect in writing New York’s cannabis law, said having eateries like pizzerias using cannabis was not a hot topic when she worked on the bill — “but it’s not explicitly prohibited, either”.

“Of course cannabis with edibles is not a new concept,” Krueger said. But the idea isn’t without complications. New York’s law bars anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing cannabis, so pot pizza could not be served to children. Kids should not even be allowed on sites where cannabis-infused food is served, Krueger said.

One major hiccup would be that restaurant owners who obtain a license to sell cannabis are barred from also having a liquor license or vice versa, vastly weeding out the number of eateries that would apply.

“We’ve been advocating for on-license cannabis sales for restaurants and nightlife establishments. New York is the culinary capital of the world,” said Max Bookman, an attorney with the NYC Hospitality Alliance. “But denying establishments from having both a liquor and cannabis license killed our buzz,” he said, adding, “we’re waiting to see the regulations.”

Other legal issues could also arise as marijuana is still considered an illegal or illicit drug under federal law, though the state has legalized it. One industry source questioned whether insurance companies would cover the costs of litigation if a customer sues a pizzeria claiming illness or a “bad trip” from eating weed-laced slices.

Marijuana is already being sold legally at authorized dispensaries across the Hudson in New Jersey, but a rep for the National Cannabis Industry Association told The New York Post that she was not aware of any state that has licensed weed-infused food licenses for pizzerias and other eateries.