Penal Law § 222.55

Criminal sale of cannabis in the second degree · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 222.55 Criminal sale of cannabis in the second degree.

A person is guilty of criminal sale of cannabis in the second degree when:

1. he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells more than sixteen ounces of cannabis or more than five ounces of concentrated cannabis; or

2. being twenty-one years of age or older, he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells or gives, or causes to be given or sold, more than three ounces of cannabis or more than twenty-four grams of concentrated cannabis to a person less than eighteen years of age. This subdivision shall not apply to designated caregivers, practitioners, employees of a registered organization or employees of a designated caregiver facility acting in compliance with article three of the cannabis law.

Criminal sale of cannabis in the second degree is a class E felony.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/222.55

In plain English

A person commits second-degree criminal sale of cannabis by:

(1) knowingly and unlawfully selling more than 16 ounces of cannabis or more than 5 ounces of concentrated cannabis; or
(2) while 21 years old or older, knowingly and unlawfully selling or giving a person younger than 18 years more than 3 ounces of cannabis or 24 grams of concentrated cannabis. ★ This part excludes listed medical-cannabis actors complying with Cannabis Law article 3.

The offense is a class E felony.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.