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Will New York Join The 10-Figure Club?
NY State cannabis industry sure hasn't had it easy, but business is budding.
Andrew Berman
September 20, 2024
Despite what you saw or smelled on the streets of New York since the passing of adult use in 2021, we know the Empire State was off to a rough start in bringing cannabis to adults. The court battle to provide service-disabled Veterans access alone added a significant timeline to ensure that Vets were honored while maintaining order in the rollout of cannabis in New York. But MJBizDaily reported that New York saw $429.9 million in revenue from January through the end of August.
I think $1 billion is a reachable goal for this year
Fighting The “Smoke Shops”
The regulatory delays, limited retail outlets, and competition from an insane amount of illicit sellers left New York cannabis limping out of the gates. Moves like back in the summer of 2024, when New York City shut down over 700 of these illicit smoke shops, have helped shift the cannabis buzz to licensed operators.
But Has The Illicit Cloud Lifted
MJBizDaily met with John Kagia, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management’s deputy director of policy to talk about about The Office’s hopes of New York cannabis joining the 10-figure club for 2024.
Here’s an excerpt from the MJBizDaily story:
At this pace – and with an estimated 200 licensed retailers ready to open for business by the end of September – finishing 2024 with more than $1 billion in regulated marijuana sales is “within the realm of plausibility,” a top cannabis regulator told MJBizDaily last week.
“Obviously, we lost some momentum last year,” John Kagia, the state Office of Cannabis Management’s deputy director of policy, told MJBizDaily in an interview Thursday.
“I don’t want to dismiss how challenging it has been for our stakeholders in this market … but we always knew that, with enough time and with enough effort, we would get this market operational.”
“I think $1 billion is a reachable goal for this year,” Kagia concluded.
The Road to $1 Billion and Beyond
As New York eyes its first billion-dollar year, the focus will remain on expanding retail access, killing illicit retail shops, addressing regulatory hurdles, and supporting small businesses up and down the supply chain that have struggled in the early stages of legalization. It’s certainly not just the dispensaries. If these challenges can be met, New York could quickly rise to become one of the most lucrative cannabis markets in the country, following in the footsteps of California and Michigan to become another billion-dollar cannabis state.
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