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Jeffrey Hoffman is a New York City-based attorney who hosts “Ask Me Anything about Cannabis Legalization in New York” each week on LinkedIn. Hoffman and NY Cannabis Insider have partnered to bring those sessions into print in a Q&A format.
Hoffman’s practice focuses on cannabis industry clients, including licensees in the adult-use market, practitioners in the medical cannabis space, and cannabis adjacent product and service providers. He has a particular interest in social and economic equity cannabis license applicants, and he also informs and assists those convicted of cannabis offenses in getting such convictions expunged from their record. He can be reached at info@420jurist.com.
The following AMA from June 7 has been edited for length and clarity. Hoffman’s next AMA is on June 14 at 4:20 p.m.
When do you expect the first adult use cannabis licenses to be issued for the next licensing round?
As soon as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to give the veterans that are suing licenses very quickly. And some people in the other priority licenses licensing classes that come ahead of the CAURDs. For my money, I think that is the quickest way to try to unlock CAURD – you show the judge that you’re given licenses to the people that the judge thinks should have gotten priority. If you do that, I think you may be able to unlock some of the CAURD licenses, though you still have the unconstitutionality issue to deal with.
Would you work with any groups working towards labor unions for cultivation agents? Is there any movement towards labor unions?
It’s already happening. In order to get a license here in New York, you must have a labor peace agreement. Labor forces in New York’s regulated cannabis industry will be unionized.
What are the pros and cons of the micro license versus the normal processor license?
The micro allows more activities than the processor as it can be fully vertically integrated. You must cultivate, so if you don’t want to cultivate the micro is out for you. The big pro of the micro is that you’re fully vertically integrated, the con is that your canopy is very limited and you can only process, distribute and sell what you grew (plus a 500 pound purchase allotment). The processor can process anybody’s flower, distribute what they processed, and their throughput is not limited in the way the micro is.
Do you know when the next application period is going to be after the October 4th one?
No. There will certainly be one because there are license types they won’t be giving out during the October 4th application period. There are a few licenses we don’t even have regs for yet.
Can cultivators distribute directly to retail licensees?
The adult-use conditional cultivators and processors can distribute for now. But that’s going to sunset once we have distribution licenses. At that point, the cultivators and the processors will have to sell to the distributors, and it will be the distributors that will sell to the retailers.
Are the medical cannabis license holders in trouble in New York over the next two to four years?
They’re about to pay $5 million each to open their first AU stores from which they will start printing money. If they are in trouble, it’s their own fault.
Any thoughts on the SAFER Banking Act? What’s your take on all of this?
Call me when the House passes it. And you’re not going to be calling me because the House isn’t going to pass it.