New York’s legal cannabis market saw explosive growth in 2025, with sales topping $1.5 billion and the number of licensed marijuana shops more than doubling.
By the end of 2025, there were 556 licensed retailers in New York – up from 261 in 2024, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management.
More than 200 of those shops are in New York City.
The expansion helped drive cumulative cannabis sales to more than $2.5 billion since the market opened in December 2022.
“Surpassing $2.5 billion in adult-use sales is a major milestone,” Susan Filburn, acting executive director of the OCM, told The New York Post.
The rapid increase in retail locations has bolstered state and local tax revenue, which now exceeds $360 million since the market’s inception.
But the rollout has not been without challenges.
New York marijuana sales hit record high, but market still has problems
Critics have pointed to regulatory missteps by the OCM, including enforcement struggles and zoning errors, as barriers preventing the market from reaching its full potential.
Gov. Kathy Hochul demanded acting OCM Executive Director Felicia Reid resign last month after the agency mishandled a major investigation into alleged cannabis inversion by a licensed processor.
Reid’s departure marks the second leadership change in less than two years, following inaugural state cannabis czar Chris Alexander’s resignation in 2024 after an audit of the agency.
Meanwhile, the illicit market has continued to grow, hurting licensed operators, Osbert Orduña, a disabled veteran and CEO of The Cannabis Place, a licensed retailer in Middle Village, Queens, told The Post.
“Online-based illicit operators continue to operate throughout the state,” he said. “Much more needs to be done to combat the public safety threat that the illicit market poses to communities throughout the state.”
