New York Official Says Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Won’t Start Until ‘Middle of Next Year’

During an event in Yonkers, one of New York’s top cannabis regulators said the state wouldn’t be accepting cannabis industry applications until next year, shifting the anticipated timeline from this fall, Syracuse.com reports. When asked by an audience member when businesses could start processing products for retailers, Office of Cannabis Management Executive Director Chris Alexander responded “the middle of next year.”

“You’ll see regulations come out sooner – in the next two months or so – but middle of next year you’ll see those applications open for cultivation, for processing, and to do the activities you just laid out.”— Alexander via Syracuse.com   

During a public forum in May, Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright said adult-use cannabis products could be available from conditional cultivators in the fall but did not offer a firm date at that time. Alexander’s remarks came on August 25, the same day the state opened applications for conditional adult-use retail licenses.   

Brittany Carbone, founder and CEO of TONIC, co-founder of Tricolla Farms, and a board member of the Cannabis Association of New York, told Syracuse.com that she was not happy to hear the news. 

“This makes it a bit more difficult for the conditional licensees to operate confidently,” she said, “and know exactly what to prepare for. … Investors are a bit hesitant to make any moves quite yet prior to the regulations being released.” 

State regulators have already conditionally approved individuals and farms with hemp licenses to grow cannabis for the adult-use market, along with conditional processor licenses and proposed packaging, marketing, and testing rules.