NY Cannabis Farmers Face Ruin: Hearing On Adult-Use Rollout

NEW YORK — The New York State Senate Subcommitee on Cannabis held a hearing Monday to discuss the delayed rollout of the state's adult-use cannabis program.

Also invited were the chairs of related Senate committees such as Agriculture, Finance and Investigations and Government Operations.

"Our hearing was a very important opportunity to hear directly from New York farmers, growers, and cannabis business owners who have poured their resources into beginning our state's cannabis industry and have risked their financial futures doing so," Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a member of the subcommittee, told Patch.

New York's rollout started — and came to a screeching halt — with its Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licensing program.

The implementation has had to confront setbacks — lawsuits over the state's social justice goals, court-ordered injunctions, and agency staffing challenges have all delayed the timeline for legal sales and created adverse effects on cultivators, processors, and retailers, Sen. Jeremy Cooney, who chairs the subcommittee, said before the hearing. Meanwhile, illegal dispensaries have proliferated.

"Two years after legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis, New Yorkers are frustrated and disappointed in the State’s ability to launch a safe and legal marketplace," he said. "As state lawmakers, we can’t just pass bills and hope they work out. Instead, through legislative oversight, we have the responsibility to work with our Governor and state agencies to ensure our collective goals are met."

Hinchey, who represents much of the mid-Hudson Valley, and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo sponsor the Cannabis Crop Rescue Act.

"Right now, there are over 200 cannabis farmers trying to sell their crops but only 23 dispensaries open statewide," they told Gov. Kathy Hochul in a Sept. 25 letter urging her to sign the bill into law. "This has resulted in more than 250,000 pounds of unsold cannabis. Farmers who took out loans and leveraged all their assets to cultivate these crops are demoralized and facing financial disaster unless we act quickly to provide them with an alternate market.

"New York’s cannabis farmers, who went out on a limb to help get the state’s legal market off the
ground, should not be facing financial ruin because of regulatory delays. We should be giving them every possible opportunity to stay afloat while they await the development of the market they were promised. The Cannabis Crop Rescue Act is such an opportunity."

At the hearing, Sen. James Skoufis, who chairs the Investigations and Government Operations committee, pointed out it had been more than two years but “not one single dispensary” had opened in the 42nd Senate District, which includes Orange and Sullivan counties.

“Most, if not almost all the stakeholders that I’ve interacted with, they have viewed the rollout over the 943 days as challenging, to put it kindly, if not unsuccessful or a failure,” he said. “And so I look forward to understanding why that is and what we can all do to work together to try and improve upon that perception, if not reality.”

Chris Alexander, the executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management, acknowledged that the rollout has been slow. His talk of future stores and producer showcases did not impress Hinchey, who also chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Hinchey, who represents parts of Dutchess and Putnam counties in the 41st Senate District, said the delays have triggered an agricultural emergency, leaving the state’s farmers burdened with surplus stock from last year's harvest and severe financial hardships.

"More stores in the future doesn’t necessarily help the 2022 crops that we’re dealing with now that every single day loses value ... and the showcases have been great but they are a drop in the bucket for what we need to help the farmers," she said at the hearing. "We’ve been begging for support to effectively very little response."

She asked if there was a stream of revenue for a recovery fund for farmers. Alexander said there was but did not say how much is available.

Skoufis, of Cornwall, also criticized the state's enforcement efforts. He said the 16 illegal shops fined so far was a "startlingly low number, given the fact that we all recognize there are thousands of these illegal shops around the state and the enforcement powers have been in place since June."

"Our commitment to the promise of a homegrown cannabis market founded on the principles of social equity and local economic growth remains unwavering," Hinchey told Patch. "I thank my colleagues, the chairs of the Senate Committees on Cannabis, Finance, Investigations & Government Operations, for their partnership in convening this hearing and the work that’s to come to establish greater transparency, communication, and guidance that will secure the successful implementation of New York’s retail cannabis market."