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Happy weekend, everyone!
This week NY Cannabis Insider dove into some under-covered issues in the weed industry, because we’re lucky enough to have readers who dig the in-the-weeds content. Thanks to all our readers who support our efforts to produce serious journalism about this emerging industry.
Let’s take a look at the stories we covered:
Yesterday we ran a story that takes a look at Brooklyn, where a Cresco-owned medical dispensary has been closed (temporarily, according to Cresco), as an adult-use shop is opening in the borough. The situation seems to be par for the course when it comes to the medical market – which, some stakeholders say, is being ignored as regulators focus on adult-use.
“It’s been very frustrating to watch all these other adult-use stores open, especially in areas where the closest medical location they can access is hours away by car,” said Tim Mitchell, a medical cannabis patient and advocate.
We dove into the details of a lawsuit brought by cannabis beverage companies currently suing New York regulators over strict limits on hemp-derived THC. Plaintiffs say they believe they will ultimately prevail in their efforts.
Plaintiffs enjoyed a brief victory in November, when Albany County Supreme Court Judge Thomas Marcelle blocked regulators from enforcing the emergency regulation. Since then, the Cannabis Control Board has codified the rules as official policy, but litigants say they’re cautiously optimistic about their long-term chances – considering state regulators seemed unable to demonstrate public health risks that existing cannabinoid hemp products pose to the public.
Reporter Mel Hyman talked to critics of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to repeal and replace New York’s THC potency-based tax structure for the legal cannabis industry. These folks told Hyman the replacement for cannabis potency tax is “unrealistic” and “destructive.”
Cannabis industry stakeholders who spoke with Hyman said Hochul’s plan to repeal the potency tax and replace it with a 9% tax on the sales of wholesale cannabis products will put New York at a disadvantage to neighboring states.
Tax attorney Paula Collins contributed a guest column about cannabis taxes in New York, which explains how weed companies in the Empire State can (and cannot) book losses when filing taxes.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people in NY cannabis closed the year 2023 with significant losses. In some cases, the investments are simply waiting for ‘someday’ to turn into revenue streams,” Collins wrote. “In others, the money spent is long gone.”
Joe Rossi, the Cannabis Practice Group Leader at Park Strategies, wrote a guest column making the case that New York regulators should simply license everyone ready to open legal cannabis dispensaries so that legal shops have a better opportunity to compete with illicit stores.
“We need [regulators] to significantly increase the number of licenses issued for retail dispensaries. Period,” Rossi wrote. “If these retail licensees will not have enough product on their shelves, which has been suggested and is also highly debatable, that will be their problem.”
We added a new entry to our “People to know in NY cannabis” series: Ellis Soodak, the owner of Verdi, the first licensed dispensary in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
Lastly, we posted attorney Jeffrey Hoffman’s latest Ask Me Anything segment, in which he answered questions about the new Variscite case, cannabis tax revenues in New York versus other legal states and more.
Have a great weekend everyone, we’ll be back with plenty more next week.