Politics
New York Stores Have Sold $1 Billion In Legal Marijuana This Year So Far, With Market Topping $2 Billion Since Launch
New York officials are touting a marijuana milestone, with the state exceeding $2 billion in cannabis sales since the market launched. And $1 billion of those purchases have been made in 2025 alone.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced that the state has reached $2.09 billion in total adult-use marijuana sales since the first retailers opened in late 2022. After initial setbacks in the market rollout, the industry has greatly expanded, with $1.06 billion in cannabis purchases this year.
As part of the marijuana sector’s maturation, the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) separately announced that it is approving 46 additional adult-use cannabis business licenses, raising the total to 1,904. And regulators said 57 percent of those businesses are owned by social equity licensees.
“Our work extends far beyond issuing licenses and setting regulations, it’s about shaping a cannabis industry that truly reflects the values of New York,” Jessica García, chair of CCB, said. “Every decision we make is rooted in equity, transparency, and a long-term vision for a thriving market.”
“Together with OCM, we are building a system that communities can trust, one that creates opportunity, protects public health, and ensures this industry serves every corner of our state for generations to come,” she said.
Simone Washington, chief equity officer at OCM, said that as the state aims “to maintain our commitment to ensuring equity in the licensing process, OCM is equally attuned to ensuring that [social equity] licensees have the necessary resources and supportive services to enable longevity in the market.”
“Their long-term sustainability is a marker of our collective success,” she said. “The current slate of SEE programs is designed to meet the needs of SEE licensees at every stage of the business development cycle.”
Meanwhile, given confusion within the marketplace about timelines for provisional licenses, CCB said it will be extending the renewal deadline for conditional adult-use until December 31, 2026.
“This extension provides licensees additional time to secure viable locations and move toward full licensure,” OCM said. “It will also apply to any provisional licenses issued between September 9, 2025, and December 30, 2025, ensuring clarity and consistency for all provisional license holders.”
Part of the uncertainty surrounding provisional licensees concerns a recently identified zoning issue impacting more than 100 cannabis businesses that are apparently located too close to public schools or places of worship than is allowed under current statute. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has said that she will be pushing the legislature to amend the state’s marijuana law to address the issue.
CCB on Tuesday also approved the creation of a Cannabis Education Advisory Panel (CEAP), which will focus on public outreach to promote youth education around marijuana.
“The launch of the Cannabis Education Advisory Panel is an exciting step forward in OCM’s work to ensure that the needs of communities and the perspectives of folks who are deeply engaged in public health show up in the work of the agency,” Felicia A.B. Reid, acting executive director of OCM, said. “Information is power and education is the heartbeat of progress. Through CEAP, OCM looks to empower communities to make informed choices and foster a deeper sense of trust in New York’s evolving cannabis industry.”
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Meanwhile, both chambers of the New York legislature recently passed legislation that would extend the deadline for some marijuana businesses to file electronic tax returns, sending the proposal next to the governor’s desk.
If signed into law, the measure would give cannabis manufacturers and distributors 30 extra days to submit their tax returns following the end of each quarterly tax period. Currently the companies have a 20-day window to file the documents, which the legislation would extended to 50 days.
Sponsors of the bill have noted that Hochul vetoed an earlier cannabis business tax reform proposal late last year, claiming it would “pose significant operational challenges for the State and confusion for taxpayers,” but that they’ve worked to address those concerns in the current version.
The earlier, vetoed measure would have allowed marijuana growers and processors to pay excise taxes on an annual basis rather than quarterly—a change that would have extended the same treatment to cannabis as the state already offers the alcohol industry.
In July, meanwhile, New York officials announced the first round of grants under a $5 million program to help retail marijuana businesses owned by justice-involved people cover startup costs.
About three months after opening up applications for the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) Grant Program, OCM and Empire State Development (ESD) announced on Wednesday that they have awarded 52 licensed dispensaries up to $30,000 each in funds meant for startup and operational costs such as rent, renovations, inventory tracking and security systems.
To qualify for the program, applicants need to have been “justice involved”—in other words, impacted by a marijuana-related conviction—and have some experience running a profitable business.
Meanwhile, OCM recently launched a new online map that’s meant to help adults locate licensed marijuana retailers—one of their latest efforts to encourage consumers to buy their cannabis from the regulated market.
After a rocky rollout of the state’s legalization law opened the door to a proliferation of illicit marijuana shops, the governor and regulators have prioritized educating the public about the need to purchase their products from licensed dispensaries as a health and safety imperative.
The broader New York campaign has also involved digital ads and educational resources, including a guide on safe consumption practices, as well as graphics and videos featuring licensed cannabis business owners and messaging about the benefits of participating in the regulated market.
OCM also advises that “continued enforcement against the illicit market is critical to building a health regulated market,” pointing to what it describes as successful enforcement efforts in 2024. Last spring, for example, officials in New York City launched Operation Padlock, an enforcement initiative meant to shutter illegal storefronts. Within months, licensed shops that were open before the operation began saw sales climb 105 percent, according to an OCM survey.
Regulators are also moving forward with new proposed regulations around the state’s so-called “cannabis showcase” program, which allows licensed businesses to sell to consumers at pop-up, farmers market-like events.
As originally authorized, the showcase events were largely in response to the slow rollout of New York’s adult-use marijuana program, which faced multiple delays in implementation amid litigation and other matters.
Separately Hochul signed state budget legislation that did not include a controversial earlier provision that would have allowed police to use the smell of marijuana as probable cause that a driver is impaired and then force them to take a drug test.
Amendments made in the legislature removed the provision, which a coalition of 60 reform groups had argued in a letter to Hochul and top lawmakers would “repeat some of the worst harms of the War on Drugs” and allow law enforcement to “restart unconstitutional racial profiling of drivers.”
In April, New York cannabis regulators and labor officials announced the launch of a workforce training program aimed at “providing comprehensive safety education to workers” in the state’s legal marijuana industry.
Separately, OCM’s press secretary indicated the office is working on plans to expand permitting and licensing rules that could allow adults to buy and consume marijuana at movie theaters. Authorizing sales of cannabis products at theaters would set New York apart as it continues to build upon the state’s legalization law.
Earlier this year, a collective of businesses licensed under the CAURD program called on Hochul to forgive tens of millions of dollars in high-cost loans issued under a governor-created social equity loan fund.
A state lawmaker said in December that there’s a need to extend financial aid to CAURD license holders, many of whom are struggling under the high-cost loans.
Critics—including the NAACP New York State Conference, Black Cannabis Industry Association, Minority Cannabis Business Association, Service Disabled Veterans in Cannabis Association, Drug Policy Alliance, NYC NORML and VOCAL-NY—wrote to the governor earlier that month to express dismay at what they described as marijuana regulators’ “efforts in service of big corporations at the expense of small business and equity outcomes.”
