An Office of Cannabis Management enforcement officer posts a sign after a store was raided in Manhattan for illegal pot sales on June 7, 2023.The announcement comes as a bottleneck of license applicants continues, and rules about selling and using legal pot within the state remain unclear. Locally, and despite the city and state’s aggressive initiative launched last month to, illegal pot shops are popping up in neighborhoods faster than legal dispensaries have been able to open around the city.
“Cannabis is an enormous opportunity for our state, and OCM is obligated to ensure that its work makes those opportunities accessible, transparent, and responsive to the industry’s movement and trends,” Reid said. “I want to thank Governor Hochul for this opportunity and look forward to doing the work with equity as the central-most focus of OCM’s way forward.”
Throughout the state, many people have applied for licenses over six months ago and have not yet heard back about whether or not they will receive one.