NEW YORK (WBNG) — New York’s cannabis regulators used this year’s 4/20 to highlight how legal marijuana impacts local communities.
The state Office of Cannabis Management says every licensed business must file a community impact plan spelling out how they will support neighborhood programs.
Officials also said New York has set up its market to keep big players from controlling everything and to open the door for smaller operators.
The market structure is similar to the alcohol market, according to officials. It is a two-tier market where businesses with an interest in the supply side, such as a cultivator license, cannot have an interest in a retail dispensary license. The structure creates more small business opportunities for people to enter the new regulated market.
When purchasing cannabis, Patrick McKeage, Executive Deputy Director for Regulator Operations, reminds consumers to look for legal, licensed dispensaries instead of sketchy websites or unregulated shops.
“It is important people get licensed because it’s a public health and safety piece,” said McKeage. “From those illicit dispensaries or maybe something you buy online from a shady site, you don’t know where that product’s coming from. It could not even be cannabis. It could be some sort of synthetic derivative. Buying from a legal dispensary from the regulated market has a lot of benefits in terms of knowing where you’re getting the product from.”
Cannabis sales have hit over $3 billion in New York State alone.
More than 640 legal dispensaries are currently operating across the state.
McKeage reminds those 21 and older to use cannabis responsibly, to keep products locked away from kids and pets, and to never drive while under the influence.
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