Legal NY pot sellers fume over latest Albany cannabis screw up – fearing it could cost millions and snuff out their businesses
- Around 100 licensed cannabis dispensaries in New York — including 60 operating ones — were informed by the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) that they cannot legally operate in their current locations due to incorrect calculations of required distances from schools and churches.
- Store owners fear many shops will be forced to move or close, potentially causing significant financial losses and layoffs, as finding new locations is difficult amid space constraints in the city.
- The Hochul administration claims to be pursuing legislation to grandfather in affected dispensaries, but there is skepticism since no action is expected before the next legislative session in January, leaving urgent concerns unresolved.
- This regulatory mishap adds to ongoing issues since New York’s marijuana legalization rollout, which included slow licensing, proliferation of unlicensed shops, and lawsuits over license prioritization, drawing criticism from industry representatives and politicians alike.
New York just can’t stop blowing it when it comes to legal pot.
Licensed cannabis store operators are fuming this week after the Hochul administration’s latest regulatory screw up, which may require dozens of legal shops to move or ultimately close shop entirely.
The anger is rising after around 100 dispensaries — including 60 currently operating — were told by the state Office of Cannabis Management Monday that they cannot legally operate in their current location because the state has incorrectly calculated how far they were from schools and churches.
“People are terrified. It’s truly unfortunate,” said Britni Tantalo, president of the New York Cannabis Retail Association, who fears that numerous pot shops that are locked into leases and unable to find new locations would be forced out of business.
“Everyone is wondering why this came out of left field. It’s going to cause harm if there isn’t a resolution.”
While OCM said in its letters to those impacted that the agency and the Governor are “aggressively pursuing legislation” to effectively grandfather them in under the law, sources told The Post that Hochul has abandoned any real effort to do so in a special legislative session ahead of next year.
“We can’t wait for a January session,” Osbert Orduna, owner of The Cannabis Place in Middle Village, Queens, told The Post.
Orduna said his license is up for renewal, meaning if he can’t stay in his current location, he’ll more than likely have to lay off his employees absent immediate action.
“We’d have to shut down and put 30 people out of work,” he said.
Aaron Alexis told The Post he received the email from OCM Monday saying he’ll have to find a new location under the updated proximity calculation, something he considers may be “close to impossible” in a city where dispensary applicants are already crammed for space.
“I’m right next to alcohol stores so you’re telling me the alcohol stores are the perfect distance from this school but I’m too close? Like, it doesn’t make sense!” Alexis said. “It just feels like we’re being attacked from every angle.”
A rep for Hochul’s office said they’re considering other options available under the current law to ensure stores with license renewals that expire before the next legislative session in January do not end having to close, but declined to elaborate further.
Tantalo said moving a pot operation is no small endeavor, as some operators have invested more than a million dollars to open a store.
“Everyone is wondering why this came out of left field. It’s going to cause harm if there isn’t a resolution,” she said.
The latest problem comes after a botched rollout of legal marijuana in New York State, in which licenses were given out slowly and thousands of gray market, unlicensed shops opened up and had to be shut down, taking business away from those who followed the law.
The legalization of pot also saw lawsuits from those who say that the prioritization of licenses for those with criminal records and veterans was botched.
“They’re inventing a problem out of nowhere. This is a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist,” Aaron Ghitelman, a former spokesperson for OCM, said of the latest bungle.
He’s shocked that they would upend the cannabis industry over school foot rule without a lawsuit or being forced to by the courts.
“It’s a total embarrassment,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Oswego) told The Post in a statement.
“Imagine a new business owner finally getting through the state’s botched rollout and licensing process, only to be forced to shut down because the Hochul Administration can’t get its act together. You can’t blame them for having their noses out of joint,” he added.
On Thursday, a Hochul spokesperson said, “The Governor has made it absolutely clear: existing dispensaries will not be punished for the failures of past OCM leadership.
“At her direction, the State is taking immediate action to support cannabis store owners impacted by this issue. We are laser focused on making sure these small business owners, who have poured their heart and soul into these shops, aren’t left paying the price for the previous leadership’s screw-up.”