Good morning.
Happy 5-year cannaversary in New York, for all who celebrate.
Let’s get to it.
-JR, CC
Today’s newsletter is 1,052 words or about a 7-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
💡 What’s the big deal?
NEW YORK
🎂 Happy 5th cannaversary New York
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday touted several milestones on the state’s five-year anniversary of passing adult-use cannabis sales, including the issuance of 57% of licenses to women-owned businesses and 51% to minority-owned companies.
That’s a remarkable achievement in social equity, considering most social equity programs have failed applicants, license holders and individual markets.
Retailers have generated $3.3 billion in sales since the market’s launch in late 2022 with a sole retailer, Housing Works.
Other notable milestones:
2,161 adult-use cannabis licenses issued
342 Conditional Adult-Use Retail (CAURD) licenses approved and 86% of these social equity licensees operational
“New York’s cannabis market is demonstrating that growth and equity are not mutually exclusive,”John Kagia, acting executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management, said in a press release. “With more than $3 billion in sales, a majority of licenses held by social and economic equity applicants, and a rapidly expanding retail footprint, the state is building a market that is both economically viable and intentionally inclusive.”
The state has invested $17 million to expand social and economic equity initiatives supporting entrepreneurs disproportionately impacted by prior cannabis enforcement. On the criminal justice front 200,000 marijuana-related convictions have been sealed and the state no longer has any individual incarcerated solely for a marijuana offense.
Combatting the illicit market and unlicensed retailers has been one of New York’s most pressing challenges. The state highlighted efforts to reign in offenders, including:
2,017 enforcement actions in 2025
579 illegal storefronts shuttered
581 properties padlocked
Despite the achievements and market growth, which is propping up the industry nationwide, expansion has been curtailed over the years by dozens of lawsuits, from social equity qualifiers to a recent challenge of the state’s Metrc track-and-trace rollout amid widespread integration issues Cultivated has uncovered.
-CC
📣 Quotable
“Five years ago, New York committed to building a cannabis market rooted in equity, safety, and opportunity and today, that commitment is delivering real results,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “We are creating new pathways for small businesses while aggressively shutting down illicit shops that threaten public safety and undermine our legal market.”
⏩ Quick hits
The State of Missouri is seeking a new track-and-trace software provider amid myriad problems highlighted by Department of Health and Senior Services officials against existing contractor Metrc in recent bidding documents, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Cy Scott, CEO and co-founder of Seattle-based cannabis data provider Headset, has launched a new substack newsletter “where I break down what’s actually happening in cannabis, backed by real data,” he said in a Monday X post to followers. He also promised to “say the things people usually avoid saying” about the industry, both good and bad. That’s a refreshing take and one we’ll monitor.
Dispensary, an Iowa hemp and CBD retailer that was suspended for 30 days in 2023 for noncompliance, has closed its two Des Moines locations, citing the state’s restrictive laws and regulations regarding hemp-derived THC, Des Moines Register reported.
Protestors lined the Mississippi Capitol Monday, urging lawmakers to override Republican Gov. Tate Reeves’ vetoes on two bills that would have expanded medical marijuana access to terminal patients and ease restrictions, including the removal of THC potency limits on certain products, extending caregiver registry cards to two years and eliminating a mandated six-month follow-up visit, according to WLBT-TV in Jacksonville, Miss.
🥐 Join Us in Atlantic City: Cultivated @ MJ Unpacked
We’ll be at MJ Unpacked this May at the Hard Rock Atlantic City — and we want Cultivated readers there with us.
When you register using our promo code, you’ll get:
20% off your ticket by using cultivated20 at check out
An invite to a Cultivated readers-only breakfast
Coffee, conversation, and connections with operators, founders, and investors
The breakfast is sponsored by Aquinnah Capital Partners and will be a relaxed kickoff to the event with the Cultivated community.
We hope to see you there.
⏪ In case you missed it
Judson Hill, Georgia market president for Fine Fettle, joined Cultivated Live Tuesday to break down the potential implications of Senate Bill 220, which would expand products and ease patient access.
More specifically, it would allow vapes products, replace the 5% THC cap with a 50% THC cap, and open the program to more qualifying patients.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has until April 2 to sign off on the bill in a relatively short legislative session for the state, which hasn't helped medical marijuana policy advancements the last several years.
“In Georgia the legislative session is pretty condensed, it’s just Q1 of each year,” Hill told Cultivated's Jay Rosenthal.
Check out the full interview here for more insights on the pending legislation, what it means for the market’s 35,000 patients and the company’s expansion plans.
⚖️ Lawsuits
A group of cannabis businesses in Michigan have filed an amended lawsuit claiming the City of Grand Rapids and certain officials tried to extort millions of dollars and threatened licensing.
The companies, Fluresh, Ascend Cannabis, High Profile, and Skymint Cannabis, claim the state’s social equity program was presented as voluntary but license holders were coerced into paying millions into the program, which diverted funds to a nonoperational nonprofit, MLive reported.
The suit also claims the nonprofit, Seeding Justice Grand Rapids, has collected more than $3 million from marijuana businesses earmarked for social equity initiatives.
Skymint is one of the state’s largest retailers with 17 locations. In 2023 most of its assets, including lease agreements for 21 dispensaries at the time, were sold in a receivership to Tropics LP, its largest lender. Skymint entered the receivership after defaulting on a $70 million Tropics loan in 2022.
📰 What we’re reading
Now Is The Time for Latinos In Cannabis To Flex Our Power (Op-Ed) | Marijuana Moment
Cannabist is trying a back door bankruptcy | Cannabis Musings