NY recreational marijuana sales likely will begin by fall, state regulator says

Recreational marijuana should be for sale in New York by this fall, according to the head of the state’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB).

CCB Chair Tremaine Wright told a public forum on Saturday that adult-use cannabis products from growers with conditional licenses will be on retail store shelves in the autumn, The (Syracuse) Post-Standard reported.

Wright also is chair of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

Earlier this month, New York state regulators issued the first round of recreational cannabis cultivation licenses to 52 local hemp farmers.

Wright also said conditional dispensary license holders will be eligible to receive loans with interest instead of interest-free loans or grants.

Those funds will come from a marijuana social equity fund that totals $200 million.

Meanwhile, Chris Alexander, the executive director of the OCM, told The Post-Standard that, unlike the conditional licensees, general licensed businesses likely won’t start operations until the end of this year or early 2023.