Culture Council: New York’s Cannabis Dilemma

New York City has been the epicenter of East Coast cannabis, well before New York State legalized adult-use cannabis on March 31, 2021. The legacy cannabis community, composed of largely Black and Latino individuals, perfected their cultivation and sales strategies over many decades of cannabis prohibition. Legendary strains like NYC Haze and Sour Diesel are among the many New York contributions to international cannabis culture. The transition from the legacy into the legal market has been a slow and rocky road despite the best intentions of the law, mandating that 50% of all licenses must be issued to social equity applicants. And, besides a lot of frustration from those applicants, it has created a state of confusion among consumers as to where they can purchase legal cannabis.   

Initially, the New York State agency overseeing legal cannabis, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), created a special license called the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary, or CAURD. It was designed to help those who were the most negatively impacted by harmful drug policies during the failed war on drugs get a fair chance in this new industry. However, earlier this year, a NY State Supreme Court judge, in response to a lawsuit, issued an injunction that barred giving operational approval to the 463 who had already been licensed and preparing to open their stores. A new licensing round started in October and ends in mid-November. Two years after cannabis was legalized in NY, there are only 31 licensed retail stores open in a state of over 20 million. Originally, by this time, as the New York Times reported, New York Governor Kathy Hochul had projected over 100 would be open. This very slow rollout of legal dispensaries has created a vacuum in the supply of safe and tested cannabis products.

As the Associated Press recently reported, this also created a situation whereby unlicensed sellers rushed to fill the hole in New York. They quote Arana Hankin-Biggers, President of the Union Square Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store, one of seven licensed stores open in New York City (and in full transparency, a client), the average New Yorker does not understand the difference between a licensed dispensary and an unlicensed one.

As a public relations professional in this space, a major part of my mission is communicating that info to the public. For example, letting them know among the benefits of buying from a licensed store means that products have been tested at state-approved labs, must be free of mold and other toxins, follow mandated labeling, and are required to be sold in child-proof packaging. Second, when you shop at a licensed dispensary, your shopping experience is guided by trained professionals who undergo a rigorous education mandated by the state. We call them budtenders, and they have the superhuman task of ensuring customers have a safe, informed, and enjoyable experience. Finally, by shopping at a legal dispensary, you are also supporting hundreds of licensed cannabis businesses throughout the state-licensed farmers, processors, and brands, and contributing to the growth of a diverse and healthy market. The tax revenue collected at licensed dispensaries will also help to support programming in communities that have been the most negatively impacted by the failed war on drugs.

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While this happened in other states, most notably California, scale and density have made the problem especially visible in New York City, where illicit shops have appeared every couple of blocks in some neighborhoods. The most recent estimate from the OCM is that over 1,700 stores are selling cannabis without a license. As another New York Times story covered, the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association lab tested flowers, edibles and vapes purchased from 20 different unlicensed stores, and detected prohibited levels of eight different contaminants, including E.coli, salmonella, nickel and lead as well as exaggerated THC levels.  

The Governor has made an effort to bring on additional employees to carry out enforcement and issue fines for unlicensed businesses. Based on the allocated funding, however, the number of new hires would need to shut down 46 stores a day to effectively eliminate the threat to the legal market.

With the number of licenses OCM issues estimated to be at 1,000-1,500 initially, it will take time for those stores to open and make the non-licensed stores moot. While still giving those most impacted by the failed war on drugs a chance to achieve the American Dream, the inclusion of the Multiple State Operators (MSOs) into the process defuses the head start the other applicants were supposed to have. With that reality, I suggest all sides unite to use the tools available to them to educate the consumers and nonconsumers alike about the benefits to all as to what the licensed store logo means. The cannabis community is very large and if everyone is on the same page with this initiative, from MSOs to legacy brands, everyone wins. The state gets the tax revenue to improve the quality of life while new jobs in economically challenged communities are created and help create life-changing opportunities for those who built the industry and paid the highest price for it. All the while, the consumer gets the security of knowing their products are safe and compliant and enhances their personal cannabis experiences.

As a 10-year veteran of the New York and New Jersey cannabis scene, to quote The Grateful Dead, “What a long strange trip it’s been.” And as Frank Sinatra sang, “The best is yet to come.” I for one can’t wait.