Is The Worst Over For New York's Beleaguered Weed Market? Sales Projections Optimistic Though Cannabis Recall Debacle Hits Home

Over the first six months of 2024, cannabis dispensaries that legally sell marijuana to New Yorkers have sold $260.6 million worth of product, equaling approximately $43.4 million per month.

The upward trajectory revealed in the data released by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) could result in the figure hitting between $520 million and $700 million for the full year, reported Cannabis Business Times.

"We've been seeing a lot of velocity in this market from the beginning of the year," John Kagia, policy director at OCM, said during the state's July 10 Cannabis Control Board (CCB) meeting. "Even as we work through all of these initiatives that are intended to grow this market, we are seeing very green shoots in the doors we have open and the folks that are getting open."

That said, the crackdown on illegal cannabis sales is ongoing and has resulted in hundreds of unlicensed weed shops being closed by city and state officials.

Read Also: Cannabis For Sale At Madison Square Garden? Top New York Weed Regulator Says ‘Eventually,’ Others Say No Thanks

During the June reporting period, 113 stores were up and running, the OCM said, reaching 137 dispensaries in July, with half located NYC’s five boroughs and the rest scattered throughout the state.

During the same meeting, cannabis regulators amended the marketing rules – a stumbling block about which cannabis retailers have complained vigorously. The board sent out changes to its Packaging, Labeling, Marketing and Advertising rules for public comment, before the final approval.

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.

The board also gave the green light to 109 new recreational marijuana businesses raising the total to 729, excluding 463 justice-involved conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) permits issued last year.

Cannabis Recall Debacle Hits Home

Meanwhile, the OCM issued a bulletin on Thursday, ordering into quarantine 21 products by the artisanal cannabis-infused ice cream brand Sky High.

The products in question, which are most likely hemp-based as highlighted by Green Market Report's John Schroyer, contain at least 200 milligrams of THC or THC-A per package, exceeding the state's 100 mg per package limit.

"The quarantine notice requests that all dispensaries and distributors immediately stop distribution and sales of these products," the notice from the state's regulator stipulates. "All remaining units of these products must be held in a separate, secure area and labeled in a manner to indicate that they are under quarantine."

Recently, California‘s cannabis regulator has recalled certain THC oil vape cartridges being sold in 106 retail locations across the state, due to containing dangerous levels of a pesticide.

Separately, a Health and Safety Advisory was issued recently for Cannabis consumers in Colorado, warning against "potentially contaminated" batches of cannabis sold at 11 dispensaries statewide, indicating the batches exceeded acceptable limits for total yeast and mold.

Read Next:

• 39% Of Minnesota Retailers Exceed THC Limits, Missouri Recalls 62,000 Weed Products

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