NYMCIA statement in response to the revised proposed adult-use cannabis regulations released by the Office of Cannabis Management & Cannabis Control Board

The revised proposed adult-use cannabis regulations are a significant improvement but remain disappointing.

Though the timeline for entrance into the adult-use market for medical cannabis providers is shorter, the ongoing delay of their entrance puts the already struggling medical market in further jeopardy and forfeits promised tax revenue for the fulfillment of the social equity promises outlined in the 2021 Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA).

The proposal overly complicates a simple transition and prevents Registered Organizations (ROs) from strengthening the medical cannabis market while supporting the adult-use rollout.

Meanwhile, as a handful of legal dispensaries compete with thousands of illicit market pop-up dispensaries, product cultivated by conditional growers sits spoiling on shelves. We look forward to observing how the additional enforcement powers included in the recently approved state budget will be utilized to address this issue in a targeted and aggressive fashion.

Equally frustrating is OCM’s lack of justification of the fee with any actionable social and economic equity programs or plans. Instead, these regulations and the long-awaited Social & Economic Equity Plan published this week reiterate the MRTA mandates without additional clarifying details.

Absent a detailed social equity roadmap to justify the unprecedented fee, the figure is punitively high – especially for providers who have invested significantly in a medical cannabis program that the state continues to undercut and overlook.