Bipartisan legislators are calling for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), sign legislation that allows the state’s licensed producers of marijuana to sell their products to tribal retailers who can then legally sell them on native lands.
The measure, if it becomes law would give the state’s cannabis growers and processing companies another way to sell their products amid the delays that have caused the bottleneck on the market. legal cannabis sales began in New York last year. However, only two dozen retailers have opened up statewide.
The chairs of the New York Senate and Assembly Agriculture Committees — Sen. Michelle Hinchey and Donna Lupardo, both Democrats, along with Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Chris Tague–released a joint statement to urge Hochul to sign this bill.
In a press release, the legislators said that “while lawsuits are being litigated” and “illegal stores are flourishing”, NY’s marijuana farmers are suffering. “Crops were planted last year in the expectation that there would be an available legal market to sell them.” Now, the value of 250,000 pounds of cannabis that has not been sold is decreasing every day… We urge the governor to sign this temporary solution to help alleviate what is fast becoming an agricultural crisis.
The measure was passed by the state legislature in June.
Growers and processors struggle to sell millions of dollars worth of marijuana products because there are few retail outlets. During a session of the state’s Cannabis Control Board , on Tuesday some growers claimed they had poured their entire money into their cannabis farm only to see their surplus product rot. One grower even mentioned suicide.
Hinchey’s sponsor memo on the bill acknowledges the original conditional cultivation licences were issued “under the understanding that growers wouldn’t be allowed to sell their products outside of the state borders, but that there would be a robust market within the state during the time period of the conditional licensing.”
Many licensees, who are in severe financial distress, are unable sell their product. They will also be unable to plant a crop this growing season. Many are in financial trouble and won’t be able to afford to grow a crop during this growing season without the ability to sell.
Around 280 New York cultivators currently hold conditional licenses. These were originally offered to those who participated in the state’s pilot hemp program. The sponsor memo states that allowing growers and processors the opportunity to sell their products to retailers licensed by tribes will “protect New York’s Cannabis Industry, including distressed growers to ensure a local cannabis economy in the future.”
Since New York legalized marijuana in march 2021, tribal governments have been ahead. Later that year , the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe approved the first adult-use licensing applications.
In an effort to help producers find legal ways to offload their products and to increase consumer access to marijuana, the New York Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) regulators also launched the Cannabis Growers’ Showcase program that allows licensed growers to sell directly to customers.
accepted applications as soon as approved the program. On August 10, the Hudson Valley hosted its first pop-up. Another was held near the state fair.
During the CCB’s meeting this week, regulators approved a plan that would open up the adult-use marijuana industry in Washington to more businesses. The changes will allow the few large medical marijuana providers in the state to start selling adult-use marijuana two years sooner than originally planned.
This approach may ultimately speed up the market rollout but it has also caused outrage among small business owners and licensees of social equity programs, who claim they were promised time to get their businesses running before being forced to compete against large multistate operators, with much more financial resources.
The Cannabis Association of New York (CANY), which represents small and medium-sized businesses, stated that the decision “opened the doors for big cannabis to enter and compete with New York businesses.”
As more states legalize marijuana, tribal governments have entered the business. Notably, in Minnesota, where state lawmakers passed an adult-use marijuana program earlier this year, tribes are leading the way.
White Earth Nation, which also began sales in August, recently announced plans to launch a mobile marijuana retailer. And the Red Lake Nation, which also began sales in August, recently announced plans to launch a mobile marijuana retailer–effectively a cannabis “food truck” that can travel and do business on tribal land throughout the state. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe is another tribe in the state that’s also moving towards legalization.
Minnesota’s marijuana law allows the governor to enter into agreements with tribal governments that allow them to operate in non-tribal areas of the state. This option has been seen as a means to sell legal cannabis before the state license, which is not expected until 2025. Last month, cannabis regulators reported that so far, “several tribes” have expressed an interest in the arrangement.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina voted last weekend to legalize cannabis for adult use, even though the state continues to ban all forms of marijuana.
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