New York has $750m worth of cannabis stockpiled that growers can’t sell
Cannabis farmers have ‘an unclear path to market’ as the state has yet to approve retail dispensaries
Saturday, November 19, 2022
A strong smell of weed hangs over many New York neighbourhoods, the result in part of cannabis decriminalization in 2019 – but cannabis growers in the state are at an impasse when it comes to getting their crops to market. Almost 300,000 pounds of the drug, worth as much as $750m, from last summer’s production at 200 state-licensed farms are stockpiled, without a place to be sold and in danger of deteriorating, according to a Bloomberg report. Distribution issues are to blame. Although the New York City has vape shops selling marijuana and CBD products on almost every street, and there are mobile weed vans on Times Square, New York’s office of cannabis management has yet to approve retail dispensaries. (See also: New York approves firms to build first social equity marijuana dispensary storefronts days before key regulators meeting)
