Gov. Hochul Speaks on ‘Disaster’ Cannabis Rollout and Rampant Illicit Market

Jan. 31, 2024

By Rosalind Adams

Governor calls unlicensed dealing in “every other storefront” “insane” while her officials struggle to get legal retailers launched. 

In stunning remarks published Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul called the rollout of New York’s cannabis program a “disaster” and said that it was unlikely the program could be fixed without significant changes to the state’s cannabis legalization law itself. 

The governor made her comments in response to questions from the editorial board of the Buffalo News and referenced the proliferation of illegal retailers in New York City, with multiple storefronts on a single block in some areas as recently documented by THE CITY and New York Magazine. 

“It’s not every street corner,” said the governor. “It is every other storefront. It is insane.”

Nearly three years since the state legalized cannabis under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, only about 50 state-licensed stores are open across New York. Delays have resulted from legal challenges to the license programs as well as regulatory hurdles. 

Hochul made her unusually critical public statements one week after the Cannabis Control Board abruptly canceled a meeting at which it had been scheduled to approve licenses for three new retail shops. 

Relying on an internal government email, THE CITY reported that the meeting had been called off at Hochul’s request. A Hochul spokesperson denied at the time that Hochul had canceled the meeting. But the governor subsequently confirmed in other remarks in Buffalo last week that she had intervened to call off the vote, after learning that just a handful out of hundreds of applicants for retail licenses were on the agenda.

“I’m very fed up with how long it’s taken to get some of these approvals. My understanding is that the board was supposed to consider 400 applicants,” she said. “They only had three new retail locations approved.”  

The governor added, “My team got involved and says, “No, go back to the drawing board, work harder, get this done.” And no, I’m not satisfied with the pace. 

The Office of Cannabis Management, the state agency that manages the retail sales system, declined to comment on Hochul’s remarks. 

Read the full article at The City.