State Issues Waivers for Cannabis Growers After Blowing Rollout

The New York State Cannabis Control Board voted last week to waive licensing fees for two years for Adult-Use Conditional Cultivators. The state’s announcement comes as Republicans in the State Assembly continue to criticize the cannabis operation, which began nearly three years ago. “Farmers are the backbone of our State, and we’re making sure the family farms across New York that are building our cannabis industry have a real chance to succeed,” Governor Kathy Hochul said.  “I have made it clear that New York State needs to issue more dispensary licenses and kickstart cannabis sales in New York, and this two-year promise to Adult-Use Conditional Cultivators will make sure these farmers can reap the benefits of this growing industry.” Meanwhile, New York Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R, Pulaski) wrote, in part, in a column this week, “New York’s attempt at legalizing cannabis has been a predictable failure. Our inefficient bureaucracy is troubling enough when it comes to basic policy items like infrastructure and taxation, so a complex policy like the commercial sale of cannabis was destined to be a nightmare for this administration.” Barclay noted that last March his membership wrote a letter to Hochul and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli expressing concerns with the rollout of the state’s program. “Since then, little progress has been made to get state-sanctioned shops up and running and illegal pop-up shops closed down,” Barclay wrote. “This may be because the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) only employs a dozen or so investigators to pursue illegal operators—a losing battle compared to the more than 1,500 illegal shops open in New York City.” The cannabis fee waiver applies to dispensaries transitioning to non-conditional license types, including cultivation licenses and microbusiness licenses fees for conditional cultivator licensees range from $4,500 to up to $40,000 depending on the licensee tier and canopy size. Hochul recently called the state’s legal cannabis rollout a “disaster” and has ordered a full review of OCM, which she reassigned under the direction of Jeanette Moy, commissioner of the state’s Office of General Services.