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New York’s Office of Cannabis Management will launch the general license application process for prospective cannabis businesses next week, a big step in fully launching the state’s struggling legal weed program.
We’ll be covering the application process as it goes, but with all the rain much of New York is experiencing, it’s a perfect time to stay inside and take a look at the stories NY Cannabis Insider covered last week.
Let’s recap:
Yesterday we summarized a 45-page FAQ document the OCM posted about the general licensing application process. The FAQ, which is posted on the OCM’s website, covers everything from the application period to social equity prioritization to possible buffer zone issues.
Earlier in the week, we ran a story about licensees allegedly resorting to illegal activity to make ends meet amid a longer-than-expected legal weed rollout. Licensed growers are sitting on thousands of pounds of unsold weed they grew in anticipation of a robust retail market that hasn’t yet materialized.
According to weed industry stakeholders interviewed by NY Cannabis Insider, the cascading problems are creating space – and in many cases necessity – for illegal activity that could largely undermine state efforts to create a regulated industry, as the cannabis community loses faith in the OCM.
We covered a Cannabis Advisory Board meeting at which Chairman Joseph Belluck said the group needs a staff and budget to function properly, and noted the board hasn’t been as involved with the state’s legal weed rollout as the cannabis law prescribes.
Belluck pointed out that the advisory board hasn’t been consulted on issues including the number of licenses the OCM will dole out or aspects of social equity programs – both of which the MRTA says the CAB “shall” provide advice on.
The Association of NY Cannabis Processors contributed a guest column arguing that the OCM should hold accountable California brands that are currently being sold at unlicensed dispensaries in the Empire State.
“Accountability must begin somewhere, and for those brands that have been playing by their own set of rules, we say that accountability begins now,” the association wrote. “To date, the lack of enforcement has allowed for a wicked monster to rear its head. Only by stopping the monster at the gates will we ensure that the goals of the MRTA – a safe, regulated, economically powerful New York cannabis market – can actually be achieved.”
In another guest column, Scott Mazza, co-founder of Buffalo-based Vitality CBD, wrote about cannabis’ role in treating fibromyalgia.
Continuing our “NY’s women in cannabis” series, we ran a profile on Griffin Basden, a broker at AlphaRoot, an insurance brokerage that focuses exclusively in the cannabis, hemp, CBD, holistic medicine and psychedelic industries.
We also added a new entry to our “People to know in NY cannabis” series: Andy Sick, an attorney with Mr. Cannabis Law, a cannabis and psychedelics firm that practices in several states, including New York.
Lastly, we posted attorney Jeffrey Hoffman’s latest Ask Me Anything segment, in which he answered questions about CAURD priority under new regulations, social lounges and more.
Have a great weekend everyone, we’ll be back with plenty more next week.