New York marijuana regulators conducted a year-end review of the state’s legal cannabis system, offering insights into major milestones and the market’s status one year after the commencement of adult-use sales.
Consumers in the Empire State purchased over 3.5 million cannabis products during the year, according to the report from New York State’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). The year’s total sales are anticipated to surpass $150 million, contributing over $32 million in state revenue. Fiscal year 2023 saw nearly $16.3 million, and the midpoint of fiscal 2024 added over $16.6 million.
Despite the significant figures, New York’s recreational cannabis market faced challenges in 2023, with a slowed rollout due to a court injunction delaying new retailer licenses. Only about 40 licensed adult-use retailers have opened across the state as a result of this setback.
To address the retail bottleneck, regulators introduced the temporary Cannabis Growers’ Showcase program, enabling licensed growers and processors to sell directly to consumers. Approximately 3 percent of total cannabis sales in 2023 occurred through this innovative program.
Chris Alexander, OCM’s executive director, acknowledged the challenges and expressed optimism about the industry’s future, stating, “Now that the core market architecture is in place, my team at OCM is ready to scale and help this industry thrive across New York State.”
Among the key findings, the report notes that 46 percent of the more than 3.5 million products sold were raw flower or prerolls, while 54 percent comprised processed, non-flower products. Flower and vape cartridges led individual product sales at 31 percent and 27 percent, respectively, followed by edibles (17 percent), prerolls (15 percent), concentrate (7 percent), tincture (1 percent), tablets and lozenges (1 percent), and topicals (less than 1 percent).
Housing Works Cannabis Co., the state’s first licensed adult-use retailer, reported approximately $24 million in sales during its inaugural year, highlighting robust sales days and weeks throughout the year.
