Albany

It is common knowledge that doing business in New York can be expensive because of high taxes and other costs. That would hold true for the therapeutic pot business, if and when it comes to the Empire State.

While legally grown medical marijuana can currently be purchased for about $3,500 a pound in Colorado, where medical as well as recreational pot use is legal, it would likely cost around $4,500 in New York.

Blame it on taxes, housing and some of the nation's highest energy costs: Power is a major expense for medical marijuana producers who raise their crops in "grow houses,'' explained Megan Sanders, CEO of Gaia Plant Based Medicine, a Colorado firm that produces medical varieties of pot.

Sander testified about the medical marijuana industry during a hearing Wednesday at the Capitol.

"Our product is tested at multiple levels," Sanders told lawmakers, adding that her company's commerce was far different from the way illicit pot is marketed — sold on street corners after being smuggled in from distant states or even foreign nations.

Wednesday's hearing was conducted by state Sen. Diane Savino, a member of the Independent Democratic Conference who has been a leading voice on legislation to allow the use of medical marijuana.

Savino's measure, co-sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, is included in the Democratic-led Assembly's budget resolution, which passed Wednesday afternoon.

Typically, the Senate and Assembly pass budget resolutions in response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget plan.

All three sides work toward an agreement for the final state budget, due April 1.

The Savino-Gottfried bill is a far more expansive plan than Cuomo's proposal, which calls for a more limited and experimental use of medical marijuana, which would be distributed through a small number of hospitals.

The Assembly measure would still need approval of the Senate, which hasn't brought it to a vote despite what's been seen as a thawing on the issue by a handful of members of the Republican conference, who co-lead the chamber with the IDC.

Some at Wednesday's hearing said the Senate may deal with medical marijuana in April, after the budget is completed.

At the Capitol in recent months, people with a variety of grave illnesses — ranging from cancer to multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis — have been pushing to be allowed to use marijuana as a way to ease pain and other symptoms.

"I deserve it," said Donna Romano, a Syracuse woman who said her alternative is a regimen of drugs that leaves her drained and exhausted.

Even more affecting have been the parents who have argued that marijuana has far fewer side effects than the drugs their children are currently taking to deal with physical disabilities.

Wednesday's testimony, however, moved the discussion beyond clinical matters into the nuts-and-bolts economics of medical marijuana.

"This also means more jobs and economic development," said Jake Schrader, co-president of Articulated Investors, which is looking to invest in the field.

Schrader noted that police costs could even drop with legalized medical marijuana, since there would be less need for officers to chase down illicit users.

Obstacles remain, though. Not all of the mainstream medical community is on board — one speaker at the hearing said her longtime neurologist was decidedly cool to her use of medical marijuana. (Some of those who spoke said they use it even though it's illegal in New York.)

On the financial front, mainstream banks and major investors on Wall Street are steering clear of the field until they have assurances they won't run afoul of federal laws.

Thus marijuana producers use financiers similar to "factors," or lenders who basically buy their receivables at discount.

In addition to high finance costs, there is wariness in the religious community, added Democratic Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, who represents parts of the Bronx and Mount Vernon.

"That's an issue that has to be addressed continually," said Charles Feldmann, a former federal Drug Enforcement Administration official who now represents Gaia Plant Based Medicine.

rkarlin@timesunion.com • 518-454-5758 • @RickKarlinTU