By Sasha Nutgent, VP of Cannabis Retail at Housing Works Cannabis Co
Five years after New York created the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), the state’s legal cannabis industry is still finding its footing.
When New York created the OCM, it felt like the state had a chance to rewrite the cannabis playbook and address many of the harms created by the War on Drugs. With lessons learned from markets like Colorado and California, the hope was that New York could build an adult-use system that worked differently.
From where we sit today, the reality proved more complicated. The last five years were defined by urgency, growing pains, and real setbacks—but also resilience, learning, and a cannabis community that refuses to give up on the vision that brought us here.
Photo courtesy of Diyahna Lewis via Unsplash
Opening Under Pressure
At Housing Works Cannabis Co.—the first licensed adult-use dispensary in the state—we’ve had a front-row seat to both the chaos and the progress. We opened at the end of 2022 under circumstances no retailer would ever plan for. To meet the state’s goal of launching legal adult-use cannabis sales before 2023, the retail team had roughly one month to hire and train staff, learn brand-new regulations, finalize a lease, and build a fully compliant operation.
It was chaotic. There’s no other way to put it.
At the same time, it was historic. Customers were excited. Brands were eager. There was a real sense that we were part of something bigger than ourselves. But behind the scenes, systems were still being built. Regulations were vague, and getting help to understand them was challenging. Many operators, particularly those from social equity pathways, had to navigate dense regulations on their own, without consultants or legal teams to guide …
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Author: High Times Contributors / High Times
