Compared to the sudden legalization of cannabis in New York, getting the actual market rolling couldn’t seem slower. When State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) back in March, it’s likely he wasn’t thinking much about the market’s foundation. Surrounded at the time by co-worker confessions to his sexual misconduct in the workplace, Cuomo still resigned not even six months later.
New York’s first female governor is one Kathy Hochul, taking Cuomo’s place until the next election. On September 1st she got the ball rolling again by signing the MRTA herself. Two new branches of legislature, the NY Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), manifest under the MRTA. As Governor Hochul signed the bill, she also selected a new chairperson and executive director for each group respectively.
Former member of the Brooklyn assembly, Tremaine Wright is Governor Hochul’s nominee for the CCB chairperson. Meanwhile, Christopher Alexander, a government relations and policy manager, holds Hochul’s nomination to take on the role of OCM Executive Director.
At the end of the day, it’s good to know that legal New York cannabis retailers are on their way. Nonetheless, many New Yorkers didn’t think it would take much longer.
Image via @govkathyhochul on Instagram
The Delay on Recreational Cannabis Retail in New York State Shall Remain a Bit Longer
Pablo Zuanic is a Harvard Business School graduate and a policy manager at Cantor Fitzgerald, a global financial services firm. He told Benzinga that, regrettably, he does not predict adult-use cannabis sales until the start of 2023. He stated that many concerns “remain in the air” when it comes to legal challenges. Important details remain to be fleshed out, for example limits on multi-state operator weed dispensaries per town/county.
We still don’t even know how many retail licenses the NY government intends to dish out. Additionally, there will almost definitely be limits on the amount of dispensaries allowed in areas, taking into account their effect on the greater market. Other branches of the business like cultivation and home delivery only add more deliberation to this lengthy process.
As we’ve learned from state industries such as Florida’s, it’s undeniably crucial that the New York government fairly distributes and prioritizes their cannabis licenses. On one hand, equal representation of cannabis culture requires constraints for bigger corporations and MSOs. On the other, expenses and investments are apparently yet to be solidified.
Based on medical cannabis legislature, it’s likely retail and cultivation facilities each will be all but barred from acquiring the other’s form of license. Grow and production facilities typically stay on “their side” of the equation, and vice versa. According to Zuanic, incumbent medical licensees are a rare exception to this rule; one that might “lead to lawsuits and delay the program’s start” further. For now, we can only hope this does not happen.
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