Will NY’s medical marijuana operators supply first-round dispensaries?

From whence cometh ample weed to supply the Empire State’s potentially large and lucrative market? All options appear to be open.

Both query and response loom large over New York’s cannabis regulatory process as the Office of Cannabis Management continues to issue its first round of adult-use retail, cultivator and processor licenses. Will there be enough product for processors to refine, for retailers to sell, and where will it all come from?

“The OCM will consider all options on the table to maintain consistent supply for retail dispensaries throughout the year,” said OCM spokesman Aaron Ghitelman.

This could mean that if the state’s licensed adult-use growers cannot meet the expected high demand when retailers open their doors (whenever that might be), the 10 “registered operators” (the companies licensed to grow and sell cannabis for medical purposes in New York since 2016) will be allowed to supply the social equity start-ups.

Some advocates fear such a scenario may lead to the medical suppliers’ eventual domination of the New York market, as has happened in other states, at the expense of the little guys – for whom MRTA explicitly carved out a space.

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