New York cannabis industry struggles to gain momentum

The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act was signed into law in March 2021, yet cannabis businesses are still struggling over two years later as a result of failed promises and delayed approvals. It’s difficult to obtain an adult-use cannabis license in New York State, leaving many cannabis farmers, processors and retailers hopeless.  

Social and economic equity for those disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition is the priority of the MRTA. Cannabis license applications of affected individuals are prioritized by The Office of Cannabis Management with the goal of giving 50% of all adult-use licenses to those applicants. 

Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses are the first adult-use retail dispensary licenses in New York state. Eligible CAURD license applicants must be justice-involved to fulfill the OCM’s goal in making communities and minority groups negatively impacted by the War on Drugs holders of 50% of the licenses.  

The MRTA was signed in 2021 by former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The administration said that many retail dispensaries would be up and running by the end of 2022, with around 20 more retail stores opening each month thereafter, according to Governor Kathy Hochul. With 2023 coming to an end, those who committed to being a part of the cannabis industry, which is expected to be a billion dollar industry, are left waiting. 

Matthew Suits, 26-year-old Syracuse University alum, is co-founder of LakeHouse Cannabis, located in Cortland, along with his brother, Paul Suits Jr. and their father, Paul Suits. The family has been frustrated with the OCM not sticking to their word. Matthew says the company is ready to open, if they were able to secure a license. 

“The delays from the government, like the OCM, have put financial strain on everyone right now,” Matthew said. “We’ve pumped a decent amount of our own capital into this project and there’s nothing to show for it and it’s been almost two and a half years.” 

LakeHouse Cannabis applied for an adult-use cannabis license but awaits approval from the OCM, although their retail space is finished with construction and ready to open its doors.

“I understand what the OCM was getting at with the whole social equity thing and they meant right by it, but they have not stuck by a single date they’ve released,” Matthew said. “Everyone from the processors to the growers to retailers, like us, are just waiting to get into the industry.”

Jeffrey Hoffman is a New York City-based cannabis attorney. Most of the issues he’s dealt with recently include license applications, leases, contracts and lawsuits. Hoffman is passionate about cannabis and is publicly against the unfair stigma associated with the industry.

 “I’ve been getting high since Reagan,” Hoffman said. “It’s been insane to me how our society has treated cannabis. Cannabis has been a part of being human as long as there have been humans.”

The distress caused by the regulators and lawmakers of the New York cannabis market forced cannabis farmers and other workers to beg for help at a Cannabis Control Board meeting in September, according to Times Union. They expressed a sense of betrayal they felt after relying on regulators’ words, expecting to be in business by now.  

One of New York’s first licensed cultivators, Tess Interlicchia, attended the meeting and said she has mounds of product, grown last year, that she cannot sell due to the lack of retail stores across the state.  

The regulation issues affect everyone involved from the farmers to the CEO’s. Clay Crocker, a Vancouver-based consultant for brands including BevCanna, Maverick and Leadhorse, as well as the course lead for two popular cannabis courses at Syracuse University, shared his take on the situation. 

“The long and short of it is that the OCM either failed to see or failed to act on the perfect storm in New York of margin compression, brought on by excess supply and the resilience of unlicensed operators until it was too late,” Crocker said. 

The New York Cannabis Board of Control announced the general license applications which opened on Oct. 4, giving a 60-day window for applicants. The expedited application window, for those who can prove they have a retail space ready to open, closed on November 17. LakeHouse cannabis sent in their expedited application on the first day, so Suits is hopeful that they’ll be able to open up shop soon. 

“We’ve been fortunate enough to sort of sail through the storm and we’re just hoping,” Suits said. “We’re just hoping that they can stick to their word and get through these next couple of months because it’s already been a nightmare for everyone involved.”