After a long, tedious process of getting rolling following the state’s approval of legal adult-use cannabis, it looks like New York may finally be making moves to fully launch its budding industry.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced earlier this week that hundreds of licenses are now available for individuals and businesses interested in legally growing and selling cannabis as part of a plan to “aggressively expand” the market and “crack down” on illicit cannabis sales.
Hochul made the announcement Wednesday, which also marked the opening of the application period—which will remain open for two months.
“Today’s an important milestone in our efforts to stand up a brand new industry,” Hochul said in an interview with Spectrum News NY1 after the announcement. She anticipates “tens of thousands” of license applicants, who will be selected through a lottery process. “We expect, over the next year, to have over 1,000 legal cannabis shops,” Hochul added.
Alongside the news of the market’s expansion, Hochul nodded to the results surrounding enforcement against illegal sale of cannabis across the state, headed by the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance. According to the governor, the state has yielded the seizure of more than 8,500 pounds of illicit product, totaling an estimated street value of more than $42 million.
Hochul also announced new partnerships with localities to further bar illegal operators from continuing illicit sales, along with a new multi-agency initiative to target illegal operators for labor violations which will “significantly” increase fines and penalties businesses may face.
“We know there’s room for improvement as New York works to launch a brand-new cannabis industry and crack down on illicit operators, and I’m committed to working with all stakeholders to get the job done right,” Hochul said in a statement. “My Administration is laser-focused on shutting down illegal storefronts, protecting the health and safety of children, and helping small businesses thrive. We will continue working to build the most equitable adult-use cannabis industry in the nation that invests in communities and rights the wrongs of the past.”
Hochul also nodded to legal challenges coming from “big companies from out of state, you know, greedy corporations that wanted their piece of it before we can make it available to veterans and [minority- and women-owned business enterprises] and focus on a social equity component, which was the intent of the law.”
Though she called the recent expansion a “breakthrough,” adding, “We’re going to keep going, and by the end of the year we should be seeing a process that is much smoother than it has been today.”
According to the statement, New York is expected to have the largest legal cannabis sales market in the world, subsequently generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and creating jobs, while prioritizing equity, small business growth and maintaining consumer safety through product quality.
Chris Alexander, executive director of New York State Office of Cannabis Management, said that the recent move to expand the state’s cannabis market is a “significant moment” for entrepreneurs who have been waiting to join the market. Alexander also nodded to the predictions that New York will be the “biggest and fairest cannabis market in the world,” citing that the opening of a new application window will help to expand that opportunity.
“New York’s market is centered around equity, with the nation’s strongest anti-trust protections in place that ensures small operators will forever have a place in our cannabis industry,” Alexander said. “I appreciate Governor Kathy Hochul’s fierce commitment to anti-trust regulations in cannabis, and I’m eager to see what this new crop of entrepreneurs can do to transform cannabis in and out of New York.”
The same day as the announcement, New York City’s Department of Small Business Services announced an educational program for entrepreneurs. The office said that the program is built to connect cannabis business owners with “free, high-quality training and advice proctored by leading players in the legal cannabis industry.” Applications for the FastTrac program are due by Oct. 18.
