Chicago Firm Sees Value In NY Rec Market, Speeds Up Roll-Out With $150M Investment

An investment group based in Chicago has handed out $150 million to New York's Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund to accelerate the slow roll-out of the state's recreational market.

According to Friday's announcement by Gov. Kathy Hochul's office, Chicago Atlantic Admin, LLC added up to the state's $200 million goal, the governor pledged last year to support social equity applicants.

Hochul praised the move by the Chicago-based investment firm.

"Today's announcement reinforces New York's commitment to building partnerships that benefit New Yorkers and setting right the wrongs of the past," the governor recently said. "I welcome Chicago Atlantic's participation in this program and applaud their recognition of the value that New York's cannabis program will provide to so many."

Meanwhile, the news comes on the heels of a gathering of a so-called "unincorporated trade association" outside Hochul's Manhattan office that protested the slow roll-out of New York's recreational cannabis market.

The Coalition for Access to Regulated and Safe Cannabis (CARSC), which sued New York's Office of Cannabis Management in March for allegedly violating the state's legalization law, protested in New York this week, chanting "Open up the program!" as it demanded the state issue additional marijuana business licenses.

In a lawsuit filed in March in Albany County Supreme Court, the coalition called a joint move by OCM and the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to reserve the first 150 adult-use retail licenses for social equity applicants — CAURD licensees — a violation of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA).

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