N.Y. Cannabis Law § 3: Definitions

§ 3. Definitions. Whenever used in this chapter, unless otherwise

expressly stated or unless the context or subject matter requires a

different meaning, the following terms shall have the representative

meanings hereinafter set forth or indicated:

1. "Applicant" unless otherwise specified in this chapter, shall mean

a person applying for any cannabis, medical cannabis or cannabinoid hemp

license or permit issued by the New York state cannabis control board

pursuant to this chapter that: has a significant presence in New York

state, either individually or by having a principal corporate location

in the state; is incorporated or otherwise organized under the laws of

this state; or a majority of the ownership are residents of this state.

For the purposes of this subdivision, "person" means an individual,

institution, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or

agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or

any other legal entity.

2. "Cannabinoid" means the phytocannabinoids found in hemp and does

not include synthetic cannabinoids as that term is defined in

subdivision (g) of schedule I of section thirty-three hundred six of the

public health law.

3. "Cannabinoid hemp" means any hemp and any product processed or

derived from hemp, that is used for human consumption provided that when

such product is packaged or offered for retail sale to a consumer, it

shall not have a concentration of more than three tenths of a percent

delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol.

4. "Cannabinoid hemp processor license" means a license granted by the

office to process, extract, pack or manufacture cannabinoid hemp or hemp

extract into products, whether in intermediate or final form, used for

human consumption.

5. "Cannabis" means all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis,

whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any

part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative,

mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin. It does not

include the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks,

oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound,

manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature

stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or

the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination. It

does not include hemp, cannabinoid hemp or hemp extract as defined by

this section or any drug products approved by the federal Food and Drug

Administration.

6. "Cannabis consumer" means a person twenty-one years of age or older

acting in accordance with any provision of this chapter.

7. "Cannabis control board" or "board" means the New York state

cannabis control board created pursuant to article two of this chapter.

8. "Cannabis flower" means the flower of a plant of the genus Cannabis

that has been harvested, dried, and cured, prior to any processing

whereby the plant material is transformed into a concentrate, including,

but not limited to, concentrated cannabis, or an edible or topical

product containing cannabis or concentrated cannabis and other

ingredients. Cannabis flower excludes leaves and stem.

9. "Cannabis product" or "adult-use cannabis product" means cannabis,

concentrated cannabis, and cannabis-infused products for use by a

cannabis consumer.

10. "Cannabis-infused products" means products that have been

manufactured and contain either cannabis or concentrated cannabis and

other ingredients that are intended for use or consumption.

11. "Cannabis trim" means all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis

other than cannabis flower that have been harvested, dried, and cured,

but prior to any further processing.

12. "Caring for" means treating a patient, in the course of which the

practitioner has completed a full assessment of the patient's medical

history and current medical condition.

13. "Certification" means a certification made under this chapter.

14. "Certified medical use" includes the acquisition, cultivation,

manufacture, delivery, harvest, possession, preparation, transfer,

transportation, or use of medical cannabis for a certified patient, or

the acquisition, administration, cultivation, manufacture, delivery,

harvest, possession, preparation, transfer, or transportation of medical

cannabis by a designated caregiver or designated caregiver facility, or

paraphernalia relating to the administration of cannabis, including

whole cannabis flower, to treat or alleviate a certified patient's

medical condition or symptoms associated with the patient's medical

condition.

15. "Certified patient" means a patient who is a resident of New York

state or receiving care and treatment in New York state as determined by

the board in regulation, and is certified under this chapter.

16. "Chief equity officer" means the chief equity officer of the

office of cannabis management.

17. "Concentrated cannabis" means: (a) the separated resin, whether

crude or purified, obtained from cannabis; or (b) a material,

preparation, mixture, compound or other substance which contains more

than three percent by weight or by volume of total THC, as defined in

this section.

18. "Condition" means having one of the following conditions: cancer,

positive status for human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune

deficiency syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease,

multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with

objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, epilepsy,

inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, Huntington's disease,

post-traumatic stress disorder, pain that degrades health and functional

capability where the use of medical cannabis is an alternative to opioid

use, substance use disorder, Alzheimer's, muscular dystrophy, dystonia,

rheumatoid arthritis, autism or any other condition certified by the

practitioner.

19. "Cultivation" means growing, cloning, harvesting, drying, curing,

grading, and trimming of cannabis plants for sale to certain other

categories of cannabis license- and permit-holders.

20. "Delivery" means the direct delivery of cannabis products by a

retail licensee, microbusiness licensee, or delivery licensee to a

cannabis consumer.

21. "Designated caregiver facility" means a facility that registers

with the office to assist one or more certified patients with the

acquisition, possession, delivery, transportation or administration of

medical cannabis and is a: general hospital or residential health care

facility operating pursuant to article twenty-eight of the public health

law; an adult care facility operating pursuant to title two of article

seven of the social services law; a community mental health residence

established pursuant to section 41.44 of the mental hygiene law; a

hospital operating pursuant to section 7.17 of the mental hygiene law; a

mental hygiene facility operating pursuant to article thirty-one of the

mental hygiene law; an inpatient or residential treatment program

certified pursuant to article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law; a

residential facility for the care and treatment of persons with

developmental disabilities operating pursuant to article sixteen of the

mental hygiene law; a residential treatment facility for children and

youth operating pursuant to article thirty-one of the mental hygiene

law; a private or public school; research institution with an internal

review board; or any other facility as determined by the board in

regulation.

22. "Designated caregiver" means an individual designated by a

certified patient in a registry application. A certified patient may

designate up to five designated caregivers not counting designated

caregiver facilities or designated caregiver facilities' employees.

23. "Designated caregiver facility employee" means an employee of a

designated caregiver facility.

24. "Distributor" means any person who sells at wholesale any cannabis

product, except medical cannabis, for the sale of which a license is

required under the provisions of this chapter.

25. "Executive director" means the executive director of the office of

cannabis management.

26. "Form of medical cannabis" means characteristics of the medical

cannabis recommended or limited for a particular certified patient,

including the method of consumption and any particular strain, variety,

and quantity or percentage of cannabis or particular active ingredient,

or whole cannabis flower.

27. "Hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such

plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts,

cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether

growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (THC)

of not more than three-tenths of a percent on a dry weight basis. It

shall not include "medical cannabis" as defined in this section.

28. "Hemp extract" means all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids,

isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers derived from hemp, used or

intended for human consumption, for its cannabinoid content, with a

delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than an amount

determined by the office in regulation. For the purpose of this article,

hemp extract excludes (a) any food, food ingredient or food additive

that is generally recognized as safe pursuant to federal law; or (b) any

hemp extract that is not used for human consumption. Such excluded

substances shall not be regulated pursuant to the provisions of this

article but are subject to other provisions of applicable state law,

rules and regulations.

29. "Labor peace agreement" means an agreement between an entity and a

labor organization that, at a minimum, protects the state's proprietary

interests by prohibiting labor organizations and members from engaging

in picketing, work stoppages, boycotts, and any other economic

interference with the entity.

30. "Laboratory testing facility" means any independent laboratory

capable of testing cannabis and cannabis products for adult-use and

medical-use; cannabinoid hemp and hemp extract; or for all categories of

cannabis and cannabis products as per regulations set forth by the state

cannabis control board.

31. "License" means a written authorization as provided under this

chapter permitting persons to engage in a specified activity authorized

pursuant to this chapter.

32. "Licensee" means an individual or an entity who has been granted a

license under this chapter.

33. "Medical cannabis" means cannabis as defined in this section,

intended for a certified medical use, as determined by the board in

consultation with the commissioner of health.

34. "Microbusiness" means a licensee that may act as a cannabis

producer for the cultivation of cannabis, a cannabis processor, a

cannabis distributor and a cannabis retailer under this article;

provided such licensee complies with all requirements imposed by this

article on licensed producers, processors, distributors and retailers to

the extent the licensee engages in such activities.

35. "Nursery" means a licensee that produces only clones, immature

plants, seeds, and other agricultural products used specifically for the

planting, propagation, and cultivation of cannabis by licensed adult use

cannabis cultivators, microbusinesses, cooperatives and registered

organizations.

36. "Office" or "office of cannabis management" means the New York

state office of cannabis management.

37. "On-site consumption" means the consumption of cannabis in an area

licensed as provided for in this chapter.

38. "Package" means any container or receptacle used for holding

cannabis or cannabis products.

39. "Permit" means a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

40. "Permittee" means any person to whom a permit has been issued

pursuant to this chapter.

40-a. "Person" means an individual, institution, corporation,

government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust,

estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other entity.

41. "Practitioner" means a practitioner who is licensed, registered or

certified by New York state to prescribe controlled substances within

the state. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give

any such person authority to act outside their scope of practice as

defined by title eight of the education law. Additionally, nothing in

this chapter shall be interpreted to allow any unlicensed, unregistered,

or uncertified person to act in a manner that would require a license,

registration, or certification pursuant to title eight of the education

law.

42. "Processor" means a licensee that extracts concentrated cannabis

and/or compounds, blends, extracts, infuses, or otherwise manufactures

concentrated cannabis or cannabis products, but not the cultivation of

the cannabis contained in the cannabis product.

43. "Registered organization" means an organization registered under

article three of this chapter.

44. "Registration" means identifying information of a certified

patient or designated caregiver that is electronically filed by a

practitioner and confirmed by a registered organization or designated

caregiver facility, as provided under this chapter and as determined by

the board in regulation.

45. "Registry application" means an application properly completed and

filed with the office by a designated caregiver under article three of

this chapter.

46. "Retail sale" means to solicit or receive an order for, to keep or

expose for sale, and to keep with intent to sell, made by any licensed

person, whether principal, proprietor, agent, or employee, of any

cannabis, cannabis product, cannabinoid hemp or hemp extract product to

a cannabis consumer for any purpose other than resale.

46-a. "Indirect retail sale" means to give any cannabis, cannabis

product, cannabinoid hemp, hemp extract product, or any product marketed

or labeled as such by any person engaging in a commercial business

venture or otherwise providing or offering goods or services to the

general public for remuneration for such goods and/or services, where

any such cannabis, cannabis product, cannabinoid hemp or hemp extract

product, or any product marketed or labeled as such, accompanies (a) the

sale of any tangible or intangible property; or (b) the provision of any

service, including but not limited to entry to a venue or event, or a

benefit of a membership to a club, association, or other organization.

47. "Retailer" means any person who sells at retail any cannabis

product, the sale of which a license is required under the provisions of

this chapter.

48. "Small business" means small business as defined in section one

hundred thirty-one of the economic development law, and shall apply for

purposes of this chapter where any inconsistencies exist.

49. "Smoking" means the burning of a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or

any other matter or substance which contains cannabis including the use

of an electronic smoking device that creates an aerosol or vapor.

50. "Social and economic equity applicant" means an individual or an

entity who is eligible for priority licensing pursuant to the criteria

established in article four of this chapter.

51. "Terminally ill" means an individual has a medical prognosis that

the individual's life expectancy is approximately one year or less if

the illness runs its normal course.

52. "THC" means Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol;

Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol; Delta-10-tetrahydrocannabinol and the

optical isomer of such substances.

53. "Total THC" means the sum of the percentage by weight or volume

measurement of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid multiplied by 0.877, plus,

the percentage by weight or volume measurement of THC.

54. "Warehouse" means and includes a place in which cannabis products

are securely housed or stored.

55. "Wholesale" means to solicit or receive an order for, to keep or

expose for sale, and to keep with intent to sell, made by any licensed

person, whether principal, proprietor, agent, or employee of any

adult-use, medical-use cannabis or cannabis product, or cannabinoid hemp

and hemp extract product for purposes of resale.