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New Yorks Assembly Minority Conference urged an audit of the states legal cannabis program the same day that Gov. Kathy Hochuls office proposed a new bill targeting illicit stores.

Hochuls proposed legislation, announced yesterday, seeks to amend the tax law, the cannabis law, the penal law and the criminal procedure law to make technical corrections to adult-use cannabis taxes.

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It could lead to fines of $200,000 for illicit plants and $10,000 per day to illicit businesses, and give increased enforcement authority to the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance (NY Cannabis Insider hasnt yet combed through the details of the 35-page bill).

The continued existence of illegal dispensaries is unacceptable, and we need additional enforcement tools to protect New Yorkers from dangerous products and support our equity initiatives, Gov. Hochul said in a press release on Wednesday.

Coincidentally, the Assembly letter also sent yesterday urged Gov. Hochuls administration and the Office of Cannabis Management to develop a comprehensive enforcement plan to stop the explosion of illegal operators.

They also took aim at the delayed and dysfunctional rollout, warning that before New York goes further down a road of inefficiency and potential fraud, the State Comptroller should conduct an audit to identify the inefficiencies that have contributed to the failures in the early stages.

The letter is signed by 46 members of the New York State Assembly.

Taking any action against the tidal wave of New Yorks illicit storefronts comes as welcome relief to leadership of the NY CAURD Coalition, which has more than 100 members with roughly a third representing different parts of the licensed statewide community dispensary owners, growers and processors.

Without gaining some level of control, its going to continue to smother us, said coalition CEO Britni Tantalo, who is also an applicant for a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license as well as the co-owner of Flower City Dispensary.

And these are the steps that need to be taken. I am in support of that: Im in support of taking down the grey market and allowing NYs cannabis market to stabilize and come together as it should, Tantalo said.

The coalitions executive director, Jeremy Rivera, emphasized the public safety threat posed by the growing number of grey market shops throughout the five boroughs. In addition to targeting minors, he said, theyre easy targets, and are being robbed on a near-daily basis in New York City, putting community members at risk.

This isnt against legacy, Rivera said. These grey market stores are not legacy.

They sell soda, they sell gum what if there was a kid in there whos buying a pack of gum and now theyre in the middle of a robbery?

Rivera and Tantalo, along with coalition VP of Operation Jayson Tantalo, said they hadnt read through the details of Hochuls proposed bill. However, theyre in support of anything that addresses the root causes of New Yorks industry volatility.

Speaking as a legacy operator for 20 years of my life, Jayson said, Ive never seen things this low.

We are in the deepest recession that cannabis has ever seen in history, and were not just talking about New York, were talking about the whole country.

The delivery guys in New York City, the growers in upstate were not making one dollar.

The NYS Assembly letter is the second public assault in the last week on the OCMs rollout since its formation in October of 2021.

It comes on the heels of a lawsuit led by the states medical operators and filed last week that laid out a laundry list of grievances and state missteps, including a lack of adopted regulations, violations of state law, inducing growers without providing necessary infrastructure, failing to publish a social equity plan and over-promising state-subsidized real estate and loans.

The Assembly letter led off with: The passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) in 2021 was met with celebration and lofty promises by those who supported the measure. More than two years later, few, if any, of those promises have been met.

It points out that fewer than 10 stores have opened (there are currently five), DASNY hasnt raised its $150 million for conditional dispensaries, and illegal cannabis shops have proliferated to more than 1,500 at last count in New York City. Assembly members call this development predictable and are asking state officials to respond.

Two full years after marijuanas legalization in New York, far too many problems exist with no remedy in sight.

For all stakeholders involved, the programs current path is completely unsustainable and demands a significant course correction, the letter said.

The CAURD Coalition board members all agreed with the Assemblys call for an audit of the statewide process, citing transparency as a key component of good government.

Every state agency should be audited, said Rivera. And if it takes for Republicans to push for an audit to release it, I think they should be transparent and open the books.

Listen, the IRS audits me every other year, he said.

Continue reading here:
NY Governor and Republican Assembly address thriving illicit cannabis market - syracuse.com