New York's marijuana chief says $1.5B in sales is possible in 2025

Felicia Reid inherited a bona fide challenge when she took over as acting executive director of New York State’s Office of Cannabis Management 10 months ago.Or, as Gov.

Kathy Hochul memorably described New York’s rollout of a recreational marijuana market, Reid inherited a “disaster” – a situation with lawsuits halting retail licensing, an enormous and brazen illicit market, licensed growers sitting on mountains of unsold product and a flawed social equity fund. ADVERTISEMENT But as adult-use legalization in New York turns 4 years old – a generational shift by itself, considering New York City was the “marijuana arrest capital of the world” as recently as 2012 – the market appears to now be on track.

“Running an agency, whether it’s been around for five years or for 200 years, and to do it in an environment where there is no playbook, is not easy,” Reid told MJBizDaily in a Tuesday interview.“I’m very careful about words like ‘disruptive’ or ‘disruptor’ … but New York chose to approach this industry in a different way, and that was not the status quo.

“And as much as people pooped on it … it has actually shown to be effective.” How New York’s marijuana industry has improved And it’s true that, four years after New York legalized adult-use cannabis and two calendar years after regulated sales began, there are significant signs of improvement.As Reid noted: Legal sales continue to grow, with retailers on pace to sell as much as $1.5 billion in cannabis in 2025 – after eclipsing $1 billion in 2024.

343 retailers are open for business across the state as of April 2, up from 260 in December 2024.A statewide crackdown on unlicensed operators has largely worked as intended to bolster the legal market.

A previously understaffed Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) now has 230 employees, up from 170, and is also retaining workers with experience processing permit appli...