Marijuana
Dozens of New Yorkers pilloried the state agency’s handling of weed’s rollout but the Office of Cannabis Management posted video of the meeting without their remarks, claiming that was a way “not to amplify the threats of self harm.”
New York promised to put independent businesses at the heart of the legal pot industry. Now major medical marijuana companies are making their play amid the state’s stalled retail launch.
A private-equity spigot begins to open after months of delay in the state’s cannabis program, with the stores those loans are supporting expected to open in the fall.
A battle over who is entitled to early retail licenses has flared to the point where an upstate judge implored the two sides to reach a compromise before a hearing in two weeks.
Reuben McDaniel, a member of the state’s Cannabis Control Board and the CEO of the authority struggling to set up licensees with stores, plans to step down from the Board this week.
A pet store owner is among the first to get a license following lifting of an injunction on weed sales in the borough. But most applicants are still waiting.
Union wrote Eric Adams’ top lawyer last month asking how the sheriff’s office has authority to carry out certain cannabis crackdowns backed by the mayor. It’s still waiting for an answer.
The task force revisited only two of the first 53 locations it raided. Both were selling pot again.
The new licensed operations have had lines out of the door — but the unlicensed ones have been making money for months. Not everyone is happy about that.
The first state-licensed dispensary business owned by a person with a pot conviction opens — but will close and reopen again after a state investment fund finishes a promised storefront.
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Some NYC educators are seeing an uptick in marijuana use during the school day, and it’s starting at a younger age
The crowd on hand downtown thrilled to the legality of it all. Just a few hours later, a shop in Hell’s Kitchen experienced another side of NYC weed sales, as authorities seized cannabis goods from an unlicensed seller.
In March Gov. Hochul announced New York was “making history” by putting people convicted of cannabis offenses first in line to legally sell pot products. Housing Works is now seizing the honor with a retail outlet opening Thursday.
The lease was signed with just three weeks to go in 2022, leaving the state far behind Gov. Hochul’s goal of 20 dispensaries open by the end of the year.
Four each will be based in Manhattan and Queens, with three in The Bronx and two in Staten Island. It’s still not clear when any of them will open — and Brooklyn will have to wait even longer, thanks to a lawsuit.
The delay in Gov. Hochul’s plan could jeopardize promised licenses for retailers with weed-related convictions.
New York State will award its first 150 marijuana retail licenses to people penalized in the past for dealing — but a daunting application stands in the way of going legal.
New York’s first licensed retail weed establishments are expected to open in early 2023. But a slate of smoke shop robberies could point toward a cloudy future.
As state officials specify packaging down to the font size and graphics (no cartoons, no candy), those already in the business keep up the creativity while they can.
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