A bunch representing the authorized marijuana trade is warning Gov. Hochul’s hashish regulators {that a} dramatic increase in the number of pot shops might have “disastrous penalties” for present licensed operators.
Hashish Affiliation of New York president Damien Cornwell famous that state regulators have but to weed out the hordes of unlawful pot operators.
“We’re writing to precise our deep concern concerning the Hashish Management Board’s (CCB) latest discussions about dramatically growing the variety of hashish licenses within the state,” Cornwell, founding father of the “Simply Breathe” hashish store in Binghamton, stated in an April 12 letter despatched to state Hashish Management Board Chairwoman Tremaine Wright and members of Hashish Advisory Board.
“We imagine that this strategy, if carried out with out correct evaluation and stakeholder enter, can have disastrous penalties for the fledgling trade and public well being.”
Hochul and state regulators have been criticized for a slow and rocky rollout for the reason that first licensed pot retailer opened in December of 2022.
Lawsuits contributed to delays in licensing and retailer openings final yr, leaving farmers in the lurch with mounds of spoiled marijuana crops.
However state officers have ramped up the issuance of licenses and permitted openings of dispensaries since ligation was settled last fall.
There are actually 103 authorized hashish shops opened all through the Empire State, up from 26 final November.
Greater than 400 hashish licenses starting from growers to retail shops have been issued by state regulators this yr, together with 101 on the April 11 Hashish Management Board assembly.
However Cornwell suggested prudent deliberation as an alternative of recklessly overwhelming the budding market.
“We strongly imagine that handing out licenses with out a thorough understanding of the market’s capability will result in oversaturation, enterprise failures, and unintended public well being dangers,” he stated.
“Because the hashish trade in New York remains to be in its early phases, many licensed retailers are already dealing with challenges competing with the unlawful market. Flooding the market with extra licenses exacerbates this drawback and probably results in a wave of closures, undermining the state’s social fairness targets and leaving weak entrepreneurs in an unsustainable market.”
To emphasise his level, Cornwell put a paragraph of his letter in daring calling on the Hashish Advisory Board to conduct a sweeping market evaluation and a evaluation with stakeholders prior to creating any main coverage selections impacting the trade.
In a subsequent interview with The Publish, Cornwell stated the authorized hashish trade can’t be in comparison with different retail markets.
In contrast to different industries, licensed pot shops are barred from deducting strange enterprise bills for earnings tax functions as a result of it’s nonetheless thought of a bootleg drug underneath federal regulation.
“With out the flexibility to deduct bills like hire, worker wages and advertising prices and different working bills, hashish retail shops face a better tax burden in comparison with different retail companies. This may considerably impression their profitability and monetary viability,” he stated.
