NY Cannabis Stores Get Green Light For Flashy Ads And Discounts As State Approves Over 100 New Permits

New York cannabis regulators have amended the state's marketing rules – a stumbling block of which cannabis retailers have complained previously.

What Happened

The state Office of Cannabis Management has adopted regulations for personal home cultivation of cannabis, allowing for the rules to go into effect on Wednesday, reported The Buffalo News. During this week's regular monthly Cannabis Control Board meeting the agency’s members sent changes to its Packaging, Labeling, Marketing and Advertising rules out for public comment, before the final approval.

"We've been following very closely the rollout of the market, the feedback from licensees, the feedback from our compliance unit on the common issues that are impacting the ability for our licensees to build awareness for their products, to engage consumers, to innovate their packaging and to optimize themselves," John Kagia, director of policy at the OCM, said.

Read Also: New York Cannabis Update: Legal Challenges, Administrative Delays, Housing Works Buybacks And More

Why It Matters

Under the proposed changes cannabis firms could offer discounts and advertise its products packed in brighter, neon packaging. The amended regulations would also allow dispensaries to display more signs outside storefronts.

That said, discounted prices on cannabis gummies, oils and other products will be available to seniors, students and military veterans. Moreover, customers would be eligible to enroll in "loyalty" programs to access special deals.

"These proposed revisions reflect recommendations that have been made by the OCM compliance unit based on what they have been experiencing and seeing out in the field," Kagia continued.

Licensed cannabis stores argued the prior restrictions that sought to address health and safety concerns put them at a disadvantage with illegal operators, reported the New York Post.

"These restrictions made it much more difficult for a dispensary to operate like a regular business in the economy," Kagia said. "The new rules will allow dispensaries to operate much more efficiently."

New Recreational Cannabis Business Permits

The board also gave the green light to 109 new recreational marijuana businesses bringing the total number of licenses to 729, excluding 463 justice-involved conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) permits issued last year, as reported by Green Market Report's John Schroyer.

The state regulators approved the following permits:

• 21 dispensaries;
• 23 growers;
• 20 distributors;
• 23 microbusinesses; and
•  22 processors.

The OCM also noted New York has 144 operational dispensaries, at least for now.

Read Next:

• Scathing Internal Report Exposes New York’s Cannabis Agency As Inexperienced, Irresponsible, Ineffective: Heads Are Rolling

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