Insurance Firm Teams Up With New York Cannabis Group On Heels Of License, Fee Drama

The New York cannabis industry is getting a workers' compensation safety group.

Insurance company McNeil & Co. and the Cannabis Association of New York have teamed up with the New York State Insurance Fund to provide cannabis businesses with a sustainable insurance option.

Daniel McNeil, founder and president of McNeil, said that the newly formed safety group will help "New York cannabis businesses of all sizes and backgrounds have a platform for prosperity and success."

Meanwhile, the Empire State is inching toward opening recreational marijuana stores. The state's cannabis regulatory body recently approved emergency lab testing regulations and opened the application process for testing facilities.

The move also came on the heels of the NY Office of Cannabis Management's announcement that it will begin accepting applications for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses starting on Aug. 25.

However, with fees to enter the state's recreational market skyrocketing to $20 million,  multi-state operators (MSOs) are getting spooked.

Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. AAWH AAWH,  for example, recently put an end to its plan to buy the New York operations of MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMEN MMNFF.

Even though a chunk of that money is supposed to help those who had been affected by the federal government's so-called War on Drugs, many operators that actively promote and support social equity are puzzled.

"It needs to be grounded in the economic realities of the market," Ngiste Abebe, president of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association and Columbia Care's CCHWF executive, recently told the New York Times.

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Small Business Services (SBS) commissioner Kevin D. Kim recently confirmed the launch of Cannabis NYC, a suite of services to support the equitable growth of the cannabis industry in the Big Apple.

Photo: Courtesy of geralt and Kindel Media by Pixabay