After closing more than 1,400 illegal cannabis operations in New York City while nearly 200 legal businesses bloomed, Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday he wants the city to become a “cannabis capital” easier to open and do business.
Adams spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people on July 19 at the first New York City Cannabis Festival and Resource Fair, held at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem.
“We want to make sure that New York becomes the cannabis capital of the globe,” Adams said. “Learn, get more information and let’s keep lighting up.”
During the event organized by the New York City Department of Small Business Services, Hizzoner said the government can do more to assist those seeking to start cannabis businesses.
“We want to reduce the hurdles you have to go through to get the business up and going,” Adams stated, including agencies and organizations seeking to help those interested and involved in the cannabis industry. “So far, we’ve opened 175 legal dispensaries across the five boroughs.”
Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services Dynishal Gross called this business fair in Harlem a “historic moment” for this budding industry, which includes 433 cannabis dispensaries statewide.
“Harlem, like many communities of color, was disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition,” Gross said. “It’s not just about celebration. It’s about equity.”
Cannabis business challenges
Still, legal hurdles remain, including pending court decisions that officials said are leading to delays in processing applications.
Felicia A.V. Reid, acting executive director for the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, said they staffed up from 170 when she started to 250, recently hiring chief equity and chief medical officers.
The office held application rounds in November and December 2023 and reviewed or is reviewing November applications, but a court injunction put many, including dispensaries, on hold from December.
“On the supply side, cultivators, processors and distributors, we are going through those applications,” Reid said.
In addition to adult cannabis use, Reid said the state sees the medical market as a key sector.
“We’re still mindful of the fact that the medical cannabis program is a huge thing for New Yorkers,” she added.
Jessica Naissant, CEO of the Renaissañt NYC dispensary in Sunnyside, Queens, which opened on April 11, said hers is the first Haitian American-owned dispensary statewide.
“It took me two and a half years from application to grand opening,” said Naissant, who had been arrested five times for low-level cannabis and is now a board member of the New York Cannabis Retail Association. “It drained my savings.”
She said she dealt with everything from bureaucracy to bad business partners, but is finally open for business.
“I still made it happen,” Naissant added. “My story is New York’s legacy to legal vision. Legacy isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a battle. I’m not in this alone.”
Erin Thurmond, president of Pif Pharm Cannabis Co., however, said he has been seeking various licenses for several years.
“I can’t continue to participate in selling cannabis while seeking a license,” he said, noting he has a location. “I have investors, but they can’t invest until I have approval.”
A member of Legacy Unites Community and the Justus Foundation, Thurmond is hopeful, waiting to participate in the legal cannabis economy.
“I’m being told that I’ll get replies before the end of this year,” Thurmond said. “I’m praying for it.”
With New York City legal sales topping $350 million, Mayor Adams says he wants more to be done to expand the Big Apple’s cannabis economy — and make amends for decades of disproportionate enforcement of marijuana laws that harmed generations of people.
“We want more of that money to be in your pockets, not the government’s pockets,” he said. “We’re going to fight with Albany to do an examination of the taxes. … We want careers that support families. We want our businesses to flourish. We want those who were the victims of over-policing in the cannabis industry that we fought to stop to be part of that growth.”
