Overview
The Cannabis Control Board (CCB) has approved amendments to the Packaging, Labeling, Marketing, and Advertising (PLMA) regulations, which became effective on December 3, 2025. These updated rules apply to all licensees and outline the requirements for staying compliant.
Licensees who fail to meet these requirements may face serious consequences, including suspension, revocation, or cancellation of their license, or other enforcement actions as authorized by the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), Cannabis Law, and Title 9 of the New York, Codes, Rules and Regulations (9 NYCRR).
Regulation Changes
Recent updates to Part 128 (Packaging and Labeling) and Part 129 (Marketing and Advertising) aim to strengthen licensee competitiveness while protecting public health and safety.
These changes are intended to:
- Align rules across the Adult-Use and Medical Cannabis Programs to create consistency for licensees and stakeholders.
- Convert previous guidance into enforceable regulations to provide clarity, transparency, and a stronger regulatory framework.
- Encourage environmentally sustainable packaging practices, including a phase-in period and exemptions for components where no alternatives exist.
- Expand marketing flexibility for licensees while maintaining safeguards to protect public health and limit youth exposure.
- Distinguish clear distinctions between permitted outdoor signage and prohibited billboard advertising.
- Clarify rules for retail promotions and discounts.
- Updated audience composition thresholds for advertising, now aligned with the percentage of New Yorkers who are age 21 and older.
Effective Dates
The revised Packaging, Labeling, Marketing, and Advertising (PLMA) regulations were filed for publication in the State Register on December 3, 2025, and are now in effect.
These updates to Part 128 and Part 129 of Title 9 NYCRR govern how cannabis products are packaged, labeled, marketed, and advertised in New York State.
While most provisions are effective immediately, select packaging and labeling requirements have a six-month delayed effective date. The delayed effective date provides time for licensees to make necessary updates to packaging, labeling, and any related manufacturing procedures and records to conform with the amended regulations. Licensees must ensure compliance by June 3, 2026 with any amendments made to the following sections:
- §128.2(a)(1)–(5): Retail packaging requirements
- §128.2(c): Exit packaging requirements
- §128.3(a)(1)–(3): Packaging prohibitions
- §128.5(a)(1)–(4): Required principal packaging display panel information
- §128.5(b)(1)(5)(7)(10): Required retail package and marketing layer information
- §128.5(c),(e),(f),(g),(h),(i): Labeling standards and required warning statements