New York is an economic engine for the country, from Wall Street to the fashion and media, it sets the pace for the rest of the country. New York City has 18 million people, making it the most populous city in the US. When the state passed recreational cannabis, the industry saw it as a turning point, what they didn’t expect was it for it to be cliff for legal business owners. As it struggles with past mistakes, now NY begs tech companies to solve their weed problem.
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Rather than the state fix the problem of over 1,500 unlicensed marijuana dispensaries in New York City alone, the Governor wants other companies to save the city from the mess. To give a sample of the problem, Michigan, which has 1,000 legal medical and recreational stores just hit the $3 billion revenue mark in 2023.
What she doesn’t mention is the states botched rollout as produced only less than 100 legals store across the states, vs the 1,500+ in NYC alone. Now the state is begging Google and Meta to adjust their algorithms and block illegal dispensaries and keep the public from discovering them. Despite you can find shops within blocks of New York’s famed City Hall. This is the latest effort after demanding landlords large and small police their tenents and close the stores if they don’t have the paperwork.
The rollout of NY’s adult-use licensing program was initially delayed by former Gov. Cuomo, who did not select any members of the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) during his tenure. While now Gov. Hochul quickly established the CCB, thus kicking off the adult-use program. At the least possible moment, the states upended the rollout, shocking existing legal medical retailers and disrupting what could have worked. Then unlicensed market was already starting to bloom. While some unlicensed operators continued selling upon legalization, many new operators saw this as a golden opportunity.The states enforcements troopers temporary shutter at least 2-4 stores a week and then issues announcements about their advances with the problems.
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The state wants to be a model for equity programs. Illicty shops pay no taxes and have no regulations on merchandise given them a large bottom line.
“Strengthening New York’s equitable cannabis industry and protecting the hard-working small business owners operating in the legal market are top priorities, and the best way to accomplish those goals is by expediting the shutdown of unlicensed shops.” states the Governor at a recent press conference.
New York’s cannabis regulators have collected only $22.5K of the $22M in fines issued to unlicensed stores. If you want to solve the problem, the state should bulk up enforcement and handle the situation, actually issue legal permits to match the market and pause on trying to say they are helpless in stopping the issue.
