While the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has dropped new emergency regulations to quash unlicensed cannabis sellers, the state’s nascent recreational marijuana industry is still facing plenty of challenges.

For example, only 13 retail shops have opened in the past six months. And according to reporting by The New York Times, a coalition of prospective dispensary operators say they are “being blocked by the state from selecting their own storefront locations.” Others told the Times they “felt pressured to accept inflated rents and construction costs” while others reported “the state was withholding funding from those who wanted to lease space or handle matters on their own.”  

These issues don’t only impact retailers. Farmers and processors are worried that they have very few places to sell their crops, which have a limited shelf-life.

On Monday, Bloomberg News reported that the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is adapting its program to “to meet the needs of cannabis entrepreneurs as we race to expand the legal market in New York.” 

One major issue for prospective mom-and-pop shops is the introduction of large medical marijuana firms into the state’s growing marketplace sooner than expected. Capital Tonight asked Chris Alexander, executive director of OCM, about the vote last month to allow these well-financed operations to start selling recreational pot in December 2023, two years earlier than originally scheduled.  

“There’s definitely a need for some additional outlets to sell cannabis products, and at the same time, there’s also an investment that comes from those registered organizations’ participation in the adult use market – an investment that will be significant in helping to fund our equity programs,” Alexander explained. “It is a bit of a give and take.”