New York to Allow Cannabis Farmers’ Markets

In a move aiming to address the state’s cannabis supply chain glut, the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced last week that industry operators will be allowed this summer to host cannabis farmers’ markets in order to sell more product, according to a NY Cannabis Insider report.

The plan, announced by OCM Director of Policy John Kagia during a meeting with the Cannabis Association of New York, will see the state’s conditionally licensed growers and retailers team up to organize the farmers’ markets’ assembly and operation. Ultimately, the markets should create an opportunity for cultivators to sell their oversupply as there are currently just 13 operational retailers in the state, and shelf space is too crowded for the millions of dollars worth of cannabis products that the state’s growers have produced, the report said.

“A minimum of three growers and a retailer can organize events where growers can sell flower and pre rolls … and do so through a retailer, but at non-storefront locations.” — Kagia, via NY Cannabis Insider

Regulators still have to finalize details for the farmers’ market program and that process could take at least a month, the agency said.

The state’s adult-use cannabis industry has so far been wrought with legal challenges and delays, which prompted at least one out-of-state company to cancel its New York expansion plans. Meanwhile, a recent MPG Consulting report found that the slower-than-expected adult-use cannabis roll-out could cost the state up to $2.6 billion in lost tax revenues over the next eight years.

Earlier this month, lawmakers dedicated $16 million of the state’s annual budget toward cracking down on unlicensed cannabis dispensaries.