The question was raised at the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday, June 15 about what was being done to help cultivators that have a glut of cannabis product and no one to sell it to.

According to news sources, licensed New York cannabis cultivators have planted and harvested millions of dollars worth of product in the last year, but haven’t been able to sell much of it due to there only being 13 legal stores open in the state.

Board Attorney Linda Baldwin said the board is looking at a number of issues from a legal point of view

Board members said they’re looking at options that mirror the microbusiness options where farmers could sell directly to consumers at market-type events versus making them go through the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license process.

One Cannabis Control Board member said the purpose of farmers markets is to allow farmers, or cultivators, to sell directly to consumers without another level of red tape that decreases profits.

When the question came up of how long it’ll take to get new guidelines in place, it was suggested that language would be sent to the board by the end of this week and that a special meeting could be scheduled to further address the issue.

The Board also approved its first recreational cannabis licenses for the Finger Lakes Region, which brings stores to every region of the state now.

A lawsuit filed by a Michigan company blocked the state from issuing licenses in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region until now. The New York State Office of Cannabis Management voted earlier this month to settle with the company, paving the way for licenses to be granted.

To date, the state has issued 251 adult-use retail licenses, however, only 14 recreational stores have opened for business, most of them in New York City.

The initial 52 farms issued conditional cultivator licenses by the NYS Cannabis Control Board

The State Cannabis Control Board has approved 52 conditional cultivator licenses to farms.

These are the first adult-use cannabis licenses granted in New York State and they advance the Seeding Opportunity Initiative.

Governor Kathy Hochul said the approved licenses are from a pool of more than 150 that have been submitted to the Office of Cannabis Management following the March 15 opening of the online application portal. She said the OCM is reviewing applications on a rolling basis and to get them to the Board for approval as quickly as possible.

In February, Hochul signed legislation creating the Cannabis Conditional Cultivator Licenses and then in March, she announced the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, which positions equity-entrepreneurs to be the first to make adult-use cannabis sales in New York with products grown by New York farmers.

Under the Initiative, these initial equity-entrepreneur, retail owners must meet two prongs of eligibility to qualify. First, they must have a cannabis-related conviction that occurred prior to the passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act (MRTA) on March 31, 2021, or had a parent, guardian, child, spouse, or dependent with a pre-MRTA cannabis-related conviction in the State of New York. Second, they must also have experience owning and operating a successful business in the State of New York.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced this as part of the “Seeding Opportunity Initiative” Thursday. This farm-to-store initiative makes sales in New York possible before the end of 2022, guarantees support for future equity applicants, and secures an early investment into communities most impacted by the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition.

Hochul said in a press release, “The regulations advanced by the Cannabis Control Board today will prioritize local farmers and entrepreneurs, creating jobs and opportunity for communities that have been left out and left behind. I’m proud New York will be a national model for the safe, equitable and inclusive industry we are now building.”

The Cannabis Control Board at its meeting Thursday advanced two components of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative.

First, it advanced to public comment regulations for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries. As part of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, this subset of dispensaries must be owned by equity-entrepreneurs with a prior cannabis-related criminal offense who also have a background owning and operating a small business. They will be the first to open and make sales in New York State, establishing equity-owned businesses at the front-end of New York’s adult-use market.

Second, the Board approved a license application for hemp farmers seeking to grow adult-use cannabis this spring – called the Adult-Use Conditional Cultivator License. The license was made possible by legislation Governor Hochul signed last month.

The Board designated March 15 as the opening date for the application portal.