Gov. Kathy Hochul is ordering a full audit of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management after saying recently she’s “fed up” with the pace of the legal market’s rollout. Unlicensed dispensaries in New York City continue to far outnumber legal shops.
The probe aims to identify areas for improvement in the licensing process, with the ultimate goal of speeding up the time it takes to get from submitting an application to getting a legal cannabis business up and running, according to Hochul’s office. New York has given out about 500 dispensary licenses since November 2022, but only 83 of those businesses have opened retail storefronts or delivery hubs so far, according to state tallies.
New legal dispensaries have been getting up and running at a faster clip since New York settled a lawsuit in November that had prevented new storefronts from opening for several months. But throughout the licensing effort, applicants have said that the state’s bureaucratic red tape also contributes to delays.
Jeanette Moy, commissioner of the state’s Office of General Services, has been tapped to lead the audit and will be embedded within the Office of Cannabis Management for 30 days.
“There are certainly many, many steps from the time that you submit that application until the time that you’re able to open that business,” Moy said. “And so with the team [at the Office of Cannabis Management], we’re going to start mapping out those areas. We’re going to try to figure out, where are those impediments?”
Hochul oversees the Office of Cannabis Management and appointed the first members of the state’s Cannabis Control Board. But she has recently started to place blame on the agency for the legal market’s shortcomings. Hochul said in January the agency wasn’t moving fast enough to process license applications.
“I’m very fed up with how long it is taking to get these approvals,” Hochul said at an event in Buffalo.
This past fall, the state opened up cannabis…
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