New York State to allow cannabis farmers' markets

New York regulators have announced that the state will allow cannabis farmers' markets this summer, to help the state's growers sell their surplus cannabis products.

With the aim of remedying the state's legal cannabis glut, the’Office of Cannabis Management (CMO) in New York announced last week that industry operators would be allowed to hold cannabis farmers markets this summer in order to sell more product, according to a report from NY Cannabis Insider.

The plan, announced by the CMO's Director of Policy, John Kagia, at a meeting with the Cannabis Association of New York, Under the terms of the new law, growers and retailers in the state holding a conditional license can join forces to organize farmers' markets. Ultimately, these local markets should enable growers to dispose of their surpluses, as there is currently no only 13 operational retail stores in the state, and the stocks are largely surplus to the millions of dollars worth of cannabis produced by the state's growers, according to NY Cannabis Insider.

«A minimum of three growers and one retailer can organize events where growers can sell flower and pre-rolls ... and do so through a retailer, but in venues that are not street-front» a declared John Kagia.

Regulators have yet to finalize the details of the farmers' market program, and this process could take at least a month, the agency said.

The state's adult-use cannabis industry has so far been faced with legal challenges and delays, This has prompted at least one out-of-state company to cancel expansion plans in New York State. Meanwhile, a recent report estimated that the slower-than-expected rollout of the adult-use cannabis industry could cost the state as much as $2.6 billion in lost tax revenue over the next eight years.

As a result, illegal operators are still numerous in New York. Earlier this month, lawmakers dedicated $16 million of the state's annual budget to cracking down on unlicensed cannabis dispensaries.