Legislation filed today in the New York Legislature would prohibit “the use of cannabis within thirty feet of a child or within thirty feet of any location in which children reside or attend for any recreational or educational purpose”.
Filed by Assemblymember Phillip Steck (D), Assembly Bill 8025 has been assigned to the Assembly Codes Committee.
Specifically, the measure would prohibit “smoke or vape cannabis within thirty feet of a child or within thirty feet of any location in which children reside or attend for any recreational or educational purpose, including areas separated by walls, closed doors or floors within a building.”
The penalty for not abiding by this would be a $25 penalty or an amount of community service not exceeding 20 hours for an initial offense. However, for a second offense a person could be charged with a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail.
If the measure is passed by the state’s legislature and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul (or allowed to become law without her signature), it would become law after 90 days.
New York legalized marijuana for medical purposes in 2016, and legalized the plant recreationally in 2021.
