NY hits $2 billion of cannabis sales 🗽

NY, NY
Cannabis sales eclipse $2 billion in New York 🗽 

Driving the news: New York’s cannabis market hit $1 billion in sales for the year, while total sales hit $2 billion, according to data the state’s Cannabis Control Board presented at a meeting on Tuesday. 

The Cannabis Control Board oversees the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and meets regularly to share market updates, review policy changes, and approve licenses.

Despite lawsuit after lawsuit jamming up the works, New York has managed to roll out a cannabis market where sales continue to soar. 

What they’re saying: “It took New York about two years to reach their first billion in retail sales and only eight months to make their second,” Office of Cannabis Management Chief Operating Officer Patrick McKeage said. 

Crucially, sales per-store, once declining, has started to level off meaning the market has room to grow. This is the result of many newer stores that had previously brought down sales averages becoming fully operational and maturing.

Staten Island and Long Island remain outliers where prices are consistently higher than average due to fewer stores opening. Upstate New York has a lower ratio of stores per resident, compared to Downstate. As a result, average sales for cannabis tend to decrease as you move away from New York City.

Call out: The average store in Upstate New York is pulling in $3-$4 million per year, while their downstate counterparts make about $4-$5 million in sales, according to McKeage.

Studying the supply: Meanwhile, OCM continues to analyze the state’s cultivation supply.

Cultivators said they expect to grow about 5.79 million square feet of canopy in 2025.

The average cultivator is only using about 55% of their allocated canopy, with about 2.1 grow cycles a year. OCM surveyed its licensed growers and found that about 57% plan to expand their operations in 2026, meaning more supply regardless of how many new licensed growers come online.

Some of the new growers will potentially come from the pool of prospective operators who applied during the December 2023 window, including those who were approved during the September meeting.

Licensing by the numbers:

• 8 Cultivation

• 12 Retail

• 4 Microbusiness

• 4 Distribution

• 14 Processing

• 4 Final Licenses for CAURD Holders

The November pool still has 247 provisional license holders who have to secure a location to get a final license. The CCB voted unanimously to give them a new deadline of December 31 2026. 

The new deadline applies to all provisional license holders after which the licenses expire, unless the applicant has already submitted additional information about their secured location and is awaiting OCM review.

And more: Location continues to be a concern for operators in light of OCM's recent announcement that 152 licenses are now in jeopardy for being located too close to a school. (Read more in our August 11 newsletter). 

The OCM will need a legislative solution to the proximity problem, OCM Acting Executive Director Felicia Reid said.

“I want to be very clear with all of you that there has been no regulation around modifying the distance measurement rule. If there is something in the law that is creating an issue the solution is to go back and amend the law.” said Reid.

-ZH

“With this administration, you have a lot of the high-level ranking members and secretaries saying cannabis, mushrooms and psychedelics are good,” California Democratic Rep. Lou Correa told Marijuana Moment about the Trump Administration’s stance on easing federal drug prohibition.

“This is revolutionary—the first time…since we declared the war on drugs in the 70s that we’re actually having common sense come back to drug policy.”

Correa is the co-chair of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, and is singing a bit of a different tune than some members of his own party. Correa, for his part, advocates for fully removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances. President Trump said in August that a decision on rescheduling cannabis would be coming soon.

Jay caught up with Cultivated Partner Lit Alerts CEO Rick Bashkoff on Tuesday’s Live to talk about how cannabis brands and retailers are utilizing Lit Alerts’ data to give them a real-time leg up.

Watch it here:

REVOLUTIONIZING CANNABIS OPERATIONS
UZIO launches first-of-its-kind integrated payroll, HR, and POS solution for the industry *

Last month, UZIO, a leading AI-powered Payroll and HR platform, announced the first, fully integrated workforce and retail operations platform built specifically for the cannabis industry. 

This strategic collaboration between UZIO and TREEZ delivers a seamless, end-to-end solution that bridges front-of-house retail transactions with back-office payroll, compliance, and workforce management — helping cannabis operators scale with speed, intelligence, and simplicity. 

“This is more than just a tech partnership — it’s a new operating model for cannabis businesses,” said Sanjay Singh, CEO of UZIO. “By embedding AI into payroll and HR and linking that directly with real-time POS data, we’re removing friction, reducing compliance risk, and giving operators actionable insight across their entire operation.” 

Key Benefits of the Integration: 

• Automated Payroll & Time Tracking linked directly with POS logins and shift data 

• Real-Time Compliance Monitoring tailored to cannabis regulations 

• Smarter Scheduling & Labor Optimization powered by AI-driven insights 

• Streamlined Onboarding & HR Tools designed for high-turnover environments 

• One Unified Experience for operators, managers, and employees across systems 

The integrated solution is being piloted with select multi-location dispensaries. 

👉 Request a demo today

*SPONSORED

Texas Gov. will issue exec order raising age to purchase THC to 21 🤠

After multiple failed attempts to ban hemp-derived THC products in the Lone Star State, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will soon issue an executive order to raise the age to purchase THC to 21, reports The Texas Tribune. Abbott’s executive order is set to outline rules for THC sales, including age-gating, proximity to schools, and testing requirements. The Texas Legislature met in two special sessions this summer, but was unable to get a ban passed, much to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s chagrin. 

Missouri activists campaign to harmonize hemp and cannabis rules 🌿

A group of Missouri activists, Missourians for a Single Market, filed a series of ballot initiatives to harmonize rules for both the hemp and traditional cannabis market. In the US, the hemp-derived THC industry and the state-regulated cannabis industry play by different rules, even though the desired chemical compound, THC, is one and the same. Read more.

60% of cannabis consumers say brand doesn’t matter for shopping decisions 🛒

The majority of cannabis consumers aren't attached to a particular brand, according to a study from market research firm Brightfield Group, published by MJBizDaily. Sixty-percent of respondents said brand doesn’t matter and only the product itself does, 29% said all brands are generally the same, and 80% said they just find a similar product when their preferred brand isn't available. That being said, 55% still noted that they are willing to go out of their way to find a specific brand.

IM Cannabis relisted on Nasdaq 💹

IM Cannabis Corp, based in Canada with operations in Europe and the Middle East, announced on Friday that it has regained compliance requirements to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange. 

Canopy Growth launches new vaporizer 💨

Storz & Bickel, a German subsidiary of Canopy Growth, and the original inventor of the Volcano vaporizer, unveiled a new cannabis vaporizer called Veasy. The new vape is the smallest in the catalogue, operates with a single button, has a range of temperatures and features rapid heating, in addition to advanced settings via bluetooth.

Headset broadens retail coverage with 7,000 new e-commerce data sources 📈

Headset is adding e-commerce menu data from 7,000 retailers to its existing POS network, bringing its coverage to nearly 11,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada. The company says the expansion will give brands and retailers a clearer picture of sales trends, pricing, and competition across legal cannabis markets.

And more:

• Green Thumb Industries subsidiary RYTHM launched a new line of Strawberry Supernova Comets under its Incredibles brand.

• The Cannabist opened its sixth dispensary in Ohio.

This cannabis giant was doing well in Illinois. It wasn't enough to save the company. | Crain’s

Why more seniors are using marijuana | CBS News

Pro-weed is pro-MAGA, and Dan Patrick is out of touch, says radio host Kenny Webster | Houston Chronicle