New York Governor Kathy Hochul, in her first days in office after succeeding Andrew Cuomo, has spoken of the need to address the opioid epidemic and soaring overdose deaths. But on marijuana she has taken another approach, vowing to quickly implement the state’s stalled legal weed market without apparently addressing safety issues for the evolving cannabis industry. Legal marijuana was approved earlier this year, but Cuomo was locked in a dispute with the legislature on nominations to the cannabis regulatory board, which Hochul says she will resolve to ensure the market can get moving. So far, there’s no word from Hochul on critical issues such as amending the law to place caps on the psychoactive component THC, or extending the too-short deadline for municipalities to opt-out of allowing marijuana businesses—both critical issues to safeguard public health. Meanwhile, pioneering legal weed state Colorado is moving to the next frontier in the marijuana market by ending its ban on public consumption of pot and allowing smoking lounges, tasing rooms, and tour busesfilled with stoned customers. Denver and Aurora would be the first cities to adopt on-site and mobile cannabis consumption, reversing a provision in the 2014 legalization law that prohibited using pot in open places. The new rules would allow pot lounges, either in brick and mortar form or on wheels. Luckily, the rules would force bus operators to put up a partition between the pot smokers and the driver, as well as install special filter systems. And the buses would not be able to stop outside schools, hospitals, or substance abuse facilities.  And finally, a recent report finds that many hospital ERs do not address addiction, despite greater awareness of the effectiveness of addiction treatment and surging overdose deaths. ERs routinely fail to screen for substance use, offer medications to treat opioid use disorder, or connect patients to treatment or follow-up care. Now, new programs are being launched to train ER doctors, medical students, nurses, and other staff in addiction-related issues, and to help them refer patients for treatment.