Gov. Kathy Hochul is being asked to allow medical marijuana sellers to sell their product to adult consumers.that have sprouted up while only 23 state-licensed dispensaries have opened, thus allowing illegal operators to cannibalize the market without paying taxes, with some selling tainted weed.
The medical pot operators claimed that immediately issuing them licenses would more than double the number of adult-use marijuana dispensaries in the state, while helping other cannabis sellers, including convicted pot dealers, sustain their own business. “For years, New Yorkers have trusted us to build and grow the Empire State’s medical cannabis program,” they wrote. “Now, a decade later, our plea is simple: Direct OCM to authorize registered organizations to begin adult-use cultivation and dispensary operations without delay, so the State’s legal cannabis market can thrive for all participants, creating a reliable revenue and job generating industry for decades to come.