New York Cannabis Market
On July 7th, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law the Compassionate Care Act to establish a medical marijuana program (“program”). The law set the framework for the medical marijuana program: patients with one of the listed medical conditions could buy and use marijuana if recommended to them by a physician: Marijuana is increasingly being used for treatment of chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, along with neurological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and epilepsy. Smoking and whole flower cannabis products were not permitted. Cannabis Retail Business
On July 12, 2018 the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) adopted emergency regulations adding any condition for which an opioid may be prescribed as a serious condition for which patients may be certified to use medical marijuana.
On Oct. 5, 2021, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the Cannabis Control Board allowed the sale of whole flower medical cannabis products.
In 2019, New York’s medical cannabis patient registry increased by more than 23,000 to over 110,000 patients and grew further to 151,286 certified patients in 2021 with 3,462 registered practitioners in the program.
In January 2022, the OCM announced the launch of a new Medical Cannabis Program certification and registration system. The program allows the certification of a patient by a practitioner for any condition that the practitioner believes can be treated with medical cannabis. Patients certified through the new system receive their certification from the OCM. As of January 1, 2023, there were 122,805 patients and 3,951 practitioners registered in the program.
The Marijuana Business Factbook estimated New York sales for 2022 at $220 million to $270 million. There were 10 Registered Organizations (ROs) approved to do business in New York State with 40 dispensing locations where patients can buy medical marijuana products. Commercial cannabis cultivation
In March 2021, the state legalized a recreational New York cannabis market that is “expected to become one of the largest in the country with projected revenues of nearly $2.5 billion by the program’s fourth year”. Cannabis products would be taxed at 13% and an additional tax would be imposed on production as follows: 0.5 cents per milligram for flower, 0.8 cents per milligram for concentrated cannabis and 3 cents per milligram for edibles.
Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) licensees are the first retail dispensaries to open for legal adult-use cannabis sales in New York State. As of January 2023, the Board has approved more than 300 conditional cultivator, 33 conditional processor and 20 CAURD licensees.
