Governors meet in NYC for vaping summit

NEW YORK (NEWS10) — Governors from the Northeast met in New York City on Thursday for a “cannabis regulation and vaping summit.”

The Governors were joined by officials and legislative leaders from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and they talked about coming up with regional solutions to vaping and marijuana.

“It is complicated, it is controversial and it is consequential – and that is a very difficult and challenging combination,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “Consequential because if you do not do it right, you can do harm, and the whole purpose here is to do good.”

Cuomo says a goal is to have coordination between the states.

“We do not want someone driving from New York to Connecticut or from New Jersey to New York to buy marijuana, and then drive back and then possibly be using it in the car,” he said.

As a result of the meeting, the states have agreed to a set of principles moving forward.

Some principles for marijuana include:

• Prioritizing small and diverse businesses’ participation in the cannabis industry
• Enacting restrictions for cannabis and vaping product forms, packing, advertising and characteristics that target minors

For enforcement:

• Uniform standard for blood or saliva tests, both for lab tests and for roadside tests when available.

For vaping:

• Regulating temperature control, including the heating mechanisms of vaporizers
• Implementing vape product safety standards for nicotine, CBD and other cannabinoids, and other vaping products
• Banning or regulating the sale of flavored vape products to reduce the product’s attractiveness to youth

In September, the state of New York tried to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes through an executive action, but an appellate court has put a stay on that law.