In stunning remarks published Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul called the rollout of New York’s cannabis program a “disaster” and said that it was unlikely the program could be fixed without significant changes to the state’s cannabis legalization law itself.
The governor made her comments in response to questions from the editorial board of the Buffalo News and referenced the proliferation of illegal retailers in New York City, with multiple storefronts on a single block in some areas as recently documented by THE CITY and New York Magazine.
“It’s not every street corner,” said the governor. “It is every other storefront. It is insane.”
Nearly three years since the state legalized cannabis under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, only about 50 state-licensed stores are open across New York. Delays have resulted from legal challenges to the license programs as well as regulatory hurdles.
Hochul made her unusually critical public statements one week after the Cannabis Control Board abruptly canceled a meeting at which it had been scheduled to approve licenses for three new retail shops.