NY’s cannabis industry is booming, but anger remains 🗽

NY, NY
New York’s cannabis sales hit nearly $1.3 billion this year 🗽

Driving the news: New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) met on Monday. 

The Empire State’s legal market is booming. Regulators report nearly $1.3 billion in sales this year. 

Check out the chart:

License approvals continue: The CCB approved 33 licenses. Those approvals include 11 cultivator, two distributor, three microbusiness, six processor, eight retail and two conditional adult-use retail dispensary licenses.

But, from the 1,603 applications received in November 2023, 275 are still under review. And there are still 2,704 retail applications from the December 2023 queue that also await review.

What they’re saying: “I’m here to lose money. I consider myself a real good businessman, but this is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made. The dumbest decision I’ve ever made, to join this program and lose money,” Gary Guzman, a prospective cannabis entrepreneur and Conditional Adult Use Retail (CAURD) applicant who said he is still waiting to hear about his license.  

Guzman dropped his mic, literally, and walked out as the meeting ended. 

Watch the full meeting here. 

-JB

Aquinnah Capital Partners launches 💸

Aquinnah Capital Partners officially launches to provide tailored capital solutions for cannabis operators struggling with limited access to traditional financing. The firm combines deep cannabis industry experience with institutional underwriting discipline to help businesses grow responsibly and deliver strong, risk-adjusted returns for investors, founder and managing partner Carter Lewis said on LinkedIn.

LeafLink adjusts pricing model after backlash 🌿

Cannabis marketplace LeafLink said it would transition back to a monthly flat fee model, after the company in April rolled out a new structure. In May, we reported that dozens of cannabis firms were moving off the platform after what they said would result in price hikes of up to 700%. LeafLink’s new CEO, Ashwin Raj, explained the change in a YouTube video. 

Happy Munkey closes Brooklyn store 👀

New York City cannabis dispensary brand Happy Munkey closed its Brooklyn store, reports Crain’s. The company, founded by Vladimir Bautista, also has a location in Upper Manhattan. The company said the Downtown Brooklyn location is temporarily closed, but didn’t give an update on when — or whether — it would reopen. 

The Cannabist Company cofounder and Chair of the Board Michael Abbott announced his resignation from the company on Oct. 6, effective three days prior. The announcement said that the move was made "in order to pursue other personal and professional commitments."

This cannabis entrepreneur is working 3 jobs to keep his new dispensary afloat | Crain’s