From the Editor, 9/2/21
For cannabis advocates and policy heads, Chris Alexander is the perfect choice to lead New York into the adult-use cannabis frontier. Governor Hochul has made the state legalization process a priority, nominating several well known, and popular bureaucrats.
Alexander has a diverse background, coming to from the private sector as an executive of Vill, LLC, a Canadian-owned cannabis company. Prior to working for Vill, Chris has worked in state and federal government as a legislative aide and Democratic policy director. Alexander was instrumental drafting the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act an is a close ally of Senate Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes.
From his bio on RootsCamp.org :
“Chris Alexander is a criminal justice reformer, advocate, and policy expert. He is a native of Hollis, Queens where he was born to two loving parents who immigrated to the United States from the Caribbean island of Grenada.
He has previously worked as a Field Director for the New York State Democratic Party, as a Legislative aide to Congress, and as a Policy Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance where he was the architect of the Start SMART NY campaign to end marijuana prohibition in the state of New York and the lead drafter of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.
Chris uses his legislative and community organizing experience in the fight to end mass criminalization and the drug war. He is an advocate for social justice, racial equity, and a champion for civic engagement. He has been featured as a contributor on Telemundo, Spectrum News, Fox 5, New York 1, WPIX 11, Hot 97, WBAI, WNYC, the Daily News, the Huffington Post, the Albany Times Union, the Buffalo News, Forbes, Politico, and the New York Times.
Chris recently worked as an Associate Counsel to the New York State Senate where he managed the work of the Cities, Codes, and Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committees providing oversight over the affairs of New York City and over New York State’s criminal justice system. In this role he developed and negotiated legislation to reform policing in the state, decarcerate state and local prisons, end solitary confinement, enact meaningful parole reform, expand access to education in state prisons, and end marijuana prohibition.
Chris currently works as the Government Relations and Policy Manager at Village Brands, the largest black owned and operated multi state cannabis company in the country.
He received his BA in Political Science from Syracuse University and his JD from CUNY School of Law.”
