New York Cannabis Market Tops $150M During First Year of Operations

New York licensed cannabis retailers sold more than $150 million worth of products during the legal market’s first year of operations, according to data from the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

Regulators said that while just 40 adult-use cannabis dispensaries have opened for business across the state, there were more than 6,900 cannabis industry applications received in 2023, including:

• 538 cannabis processor applications,
• 372 cultivation license applications,
• 351 distributor license applications,
• 1,349 microbusiness license applications, and
• 4,324 retail dispensary applications.

Of the 6,934 total applications, 3,826 — about 55% — were equity applications, regulators said.

“New York Cannabis has momentum heading in to 2024 and we’ll keep working to make this market grow. We have a lot of work to do, and we have much to be proud of; now that the core market architecture is in place, my team at OCM is ready to scale and help this industry thrive across New York State.” — Chris Alexander, OCM Executive Director, in a statement

Ultimately, the state’s adult-use roll-out was slower than expected due to a lawsuit that blocked the early licensing of equity applicants; officials settled that lawsuit in November.

To alleviate the pressure from the state’s slow retail roll-out, New York regulators last year approved a “cannabis showcase” project that enabled producers to distribute their stockpiled products through a farmers market-style arrangement. The state’s first such showcase opened in August and, over the course of 141 showcase days, businesses earned $4.8 million in cannabis sales across 43 cities and towns.