New York Office of Cannabis Management Acting Director Says They Won’t Process 2023 Marijuana Applications Until 2025

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The head of the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) says that they don’t plan to finish reviewing 2023 applications for those wanting to enter the recreational marijuana market until sometime in 2025.

Felicia Reid, acting director of the OCM, told Spectrum News 1 that there are still 600 applications pending for marijuana retailers and microbusiness that were filed in November 2023. Reid says the review of these applications will continue until “early next year”.

Reid says applicants from December’s marijuana cultivation queue will wait even longer. Reid says they will be reviewed “on a rolling basis” after completion of the November queue.

Earlier this summer OCM Chief Operating Officer Patrick McKeage said that the review of the 2023 ques would be completed by the end of this year. The latest comments from Reid indicate the review has gone considerably slower than initially expected.

Reid took charge of New York’s marijuana industry in June, following the resignation of former OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander, who faced criticism from Governor Kathy Hochul after an audit released in May detailed several issues with Alexander’s leadership. Among the issues highlighted by the audit was understaffing, with 65 positions unfilled, including at least 13 on the licensing review team. However, nearly four months after the audit’s release and two months into Reid’s leadership, the situation remains unchanged, with 65 vacancies.

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