N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 125.15

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 36, September 4, 2024

Section 125.15 - Limited Retail Consumption Facility, Exception Area, and Microbusiness Consumption Facility Operations

(a) No licensee that operates a consumption facility or exception area shall sell, deliver, or give away or cause or permit or procure to be sold, delivered or given away any cannabis product to any such person that a reasonable person would assume is intoxicated based on a visual assessment.

(b) No licensee that operates a consumption facility or exception area shall sell, deliver, or give away or cause or permit or procure to be sold, delivered or given away any cannabis or cannabis product to any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years.

(c) A licensee that operates a consumption facility or exception area shall:

(1) submit reports in a form and manner as determined by the Office regarding the air quality in all indoor areas in which individuals may smoke or vape cannabis products;

(2) post, distribute, make available to consumers, or otherwise utilize any consumer education materials in a manner as determined by the Office, including, but not limited to:

(i) posting the text 'WARNING: This is a cannabis smoking area for adults 21 years of age and older only. Occupants will be exposed to secondhand cannabis smoke. Smoking or vaping tobacco or tobacco products is not allowed in this area.' in at least 72-point non-cursive font at all doors which permit ingress or egress between areas that allow smoking and vaping and areas that do not allow smoking and vaping;

(ii) posting a licensed premises verification tool in accordance with section 125.16 of this Part, or other similar material, in a form and manner as directed by the Office; and

(iii) posting, distributing, making available to consumers, or otherwise utilizing other consumer education materials as determined by the Office;

(3) ensure that any windows in indoor areas of the consumption facility or exception area shall remain closed while people are smoking or vaping, except windows which open to the exterior of the structure, do not open directly from the ground level of the structure onto a public thoroughfare, and can be opened without disrupting neighboring businesses or endangering public health and safety; and

(4) ensure that any doors which permit ingress or egress between areas that allow smoking and vaping and areas that do not allow smoking and vaping shall remain closed while people are smoking or vaping except to the extent necessary to permit ingress and egress to and from areas of smoking or vaping; and

(5) comply with any other requirements determined by the Office.

(d) During a consumption facility's hours of operation, and for sixty (60) minutes before and after a consumption facility's hours of operation, a licensee operating a consumption facility, including a limited retail consumption facility, shall:

(1) ensure that no individual who is under twenty-one (21) years of age enters the consumption facility. Prior to allowing an individual entry into a consumption facility, the licensee or its authorized agent shall inspect an individual's identification and determine the individual's age to validate that the individual is twenty-one (21) years of age or older. Valid identification and proof of age shall include:

(i) a valid driver's license or non-driver identification card issued by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, the federal government, any United States territory, commonwealth or possession, the District of Columbia, a state or local government within the United States or a provincial government of the dominion of Canada;

(ii) a valid federal, state, or local government identification, including IDNYC, stating the individual's age and a photograph of the individual's face;

(iii) a valid passport issued by the United States government or any other country;

(iv) a consular identification card; or

(v) an identification card issued by the armed forces of the United States;

(2) ensure all areas of the consumption facility are visible to, and monitored by, the licensee or the licensee's agent;

(3) only allow a partially-consumed cannabis product, including prepared cannabis products, to leave the licensed premises if such partially-consumed product is within a retail package which meets the requirements of sections 128.2 and 128.3 of this Title and, if the package is no longer tamper evident as a result of being opened, an unbroken tamper evident seal has been affixed to the retail package;

(4) utilize retail customer time limits, purchase limits, or other policies to prevent overconsumption of cannabis products and other public health and safety risks;

(i) The Board may require a licensee update, alter, or amend these policies at any time if it learns of an increase in adverse events or other risks to public health and safety stemming from the location of a particular consumption facility.

(ii) Such updates, alterations, or amendments may include, but are not limited to, requiring the licensee only allow the consumption of certain product forms or types or requiring the licensee only allow consumption at certain times;

(5) only make available cannabis paraphernalia for use by consumers if such paraphernalia has been sanitized; and

(6) comply with any additional requirements as determined by the Office;

(e) An Article 13-E Smoking or Vaping Exception licensee shall not allow any person to conduct the retail sale of cannabis products within the licensed premises except for when it is used for cannabis events as provided for in subdivision (g) of this section.

(f) An Article 13-E Smoking or Vaping Exception licensee shall not store cannabis products, buy cannabis products, or conduct retail sales of cannabis products.

(g) An exception area may be a licensed premises for cannabis events pursuant to section 120.19 of this Title. During the specific times in which any retail sale of cannabis products by any authorized person occurs at an exception area and for an additional period of sixty (60) minutes before and after the times in which sales occur, unless determined otherwise by the Office, an Article 13-E Smoking or Vaping Exception licensee shall ensure the exception area meets the requirements of subdivision (d) of this section.

(h) A licensee operating a consumption facility or exception area shall not:

(1) allow any adult-use cultivator, processor, distributor, cooperative, microbusiness, ROD, ROND, registered organization registered under article 3 of the Cannabis Law, or cannabis laboratory licensee or permittee or any true party of interest of any of the aforementioned to advertise through use of a brand representative within the consumption facility or exception area, unless such representative is outdoors and cannot be easily seen from any public thoroughfare adjacent to the licensed premises and the consumption facility is not a limited retail consumption facility; or

(2) violate any other requirements pertaining to a consumption facility or exception area, as determined by the Office.

(i) If the Board learns of an increase in impaired driving stemming from the location of a particular consumption facility or exception area, the Board shall require the licensee to update, alter, or amend the licensee's efforts to prevent driving while intoxicated or take other actions, including, but not limited to, limiting the products that may be sold at that premises.

(j) The proper conduct of a consumption facility is essential to the public interest. Failure of a licensee to exercise adequate supervision over the conduct of a consumption facility poses a substantial risk not only to the objectives of the legalization of cannabis but imperils the health, welfare, and safety of the people of this State. It shall be the obligation of each person licensed pursuant to this Part to ensure that a high degree of supervision is exercised over the conduct of any consumption facilities at all times in order to safeguard against abuses of the license or privilege and violations of law. Each such licensee will be held strictly accountable for all violations that occur in the licensed premises and are committed by or suffered and permitted by any manager, agent or employee of such licensee.

(k) A licensee may hold recreational, social, artistic, charitable, cannabis and other events which comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, Part 129 of this Title at a consumption facility or exception area.

(l) Persons who allow the smoking or vaping of cannabis outside of an adult-use on-site consumption premises in violation of article 13-E of the Public Health Law shall be subject to any penalties imposed by the enforcement officer, as such term is defined in section 1399-t of the Public Health Law;

(m) Persons who allow the consumption of cannabis outside of an adult-use on-site consumption premises, without allowing the smoking or vaping of cannabis in violation of article 13-E of the Public Health Law, may be subject to the penalties described in this Title and any penalties or sanctions as determined by the Board, including, but not limited to, cancellation, suspension, or revocation of a license and imposition of fees, civil penalties and any other penalty; and

(n) The Office shall determine the acceptable conduct of consumption facilities and exception areas which may include but not be limited to further requirements for the cannabis products at a consumption facility or exception area and requirements for the conduct of a licensee and its agents within a consumption facility or exception area.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 125.15

Adopted New York State Register September 27, 2023/Volume XLV, Issue 39, eff. 9/27/2023