A hard row to hoe
Here’s a cannabis-infused word problem to start your day: Let’s say you’re going to roll a joint. Your average American marijuana cigarette, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania, contains .32 grams of marijuana. How many joints could you roll from the approximately 300,000 pounds of cannabis New York farmers are sitting on, unable to sell?
The answer: more than 425 million. That’s right: There’s enough to share a J with every adult in the United States, plus every adult in Canada, Germany, Poland, Sweden and Australia — and you’d still have some left over.
Ridiculous? You bet. But not nearly as ridiculous as the fact that about 300,000 pounds of marijuana is sitting unsold after New York state told growers last year to dive in to the state’s recreational cannabis industry.
It’s worth remembering some of the happy quotes from February 2022, when Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation allowing the first round of cannabis growers to get licenses: Growers would “jumpstart the safe, equitable and inclusive new industry we are building,” the governor said. And from Chris Alexander, director of the state Office of Cannabis Management: “With this bill, we’re putting New York farmers, not big corporations, at the forefront of our industry.”
Well, they’re at the forefront all right — or call it the front lines, taking the risk and absorbing the damage, stuck with product they cannot sell. Meanwhile, final state cannabis regulations have yet to be released and the state has opened a grand total of 12 retail shops. Twelve. (Bonus points if you noted that’d be 25,000 pounds of surplus per store.)
Farmers and other entrepreneurs bought into New York state’s vision. Some of them put their livelihoods on the line to buy into this “safe, equitable and inclusive new industry.” Some are now eyeing bankruptcy.
They upheld their end of the deal. But the state has kept moving its timelines as it works to craft regulations and figure out processes. Key appointments were delayed for months. And then a court order suspended licensing in some places because of a dispute over the state’s selection requirements.
It wasn’t a natural disaster like flooding that made this crop unsellable. It wasn’t an ordinary market fluctuation. This is a disaster of New
York state government’s making — and farmers cannot be expected to shoulder this loss.
One proposed solution is to allow the growers to sell their cannabis directly. That’s not workable. We’re not talking about a roadside stand here; establishing a customer base and the logistics of packaging, transport to markets, security and so forth is not something farmers can come up with on the fly — especially when another growing season has already started.
Another idea has been to allow “pop-up stores” to sell it — temporary businesses that would open quickly and be run by retailers who are waiting for full approval. Frankly, we’re skeptical. Cannabis degrades over time, becoming less potent, even in ideal storage conditions — which many growers aren’t set up to provide. Given the pace of state decision-making on cannabis, there’s a good chance that crop will just be sitting for months, declining in quality and value, as the state hashes out even a “popup” system. Though if that model will boost retail entrepreneurs — too many of whom are also losing money because of state delays, paying rent on empty storefronts — sure, get that ball rolling.
But as for 2022’s crop? The state should buy it and destroy it. And then try to get its act together for next year.