Puff, and he’s out! Pot big gets boot

This is blunt criticism. The top leader at the state’s Office of Cannabis Management is being ousted as a damning internal report from the Hochul administration has ripped the agency to shreds.

The report found the office was staffed with inexperienced leadership, lacked a transparent process for licensing new dispensaries and had virtually no customer service for licensees.

“It has struggled to make the transition to a mature regulatory agency,” says the report, which was produced by Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy and obtained by The Post before being released publicly Friday.

The report highlighted “implementation challenges” that “resulted in confusion, difficulties, and delays for well-intentioned line staff as well as applicants.”

Hochul confirmed Friday that OCM Director Chris Alexander will not be reappointed after his term is up in September, saying he plans to “pursue other opportunities.”

Alexander’s exit comes after the licensing process for shops, processors and growers was hampered by an onslaught of legal challenges and missteps, including a proliferation of gray-market shops flooding the state.

The office’s Chief Equity Officer Damian Fagon is also still on administrative leave pending an ongoing internal investigation that he retaliated against a Hudson Valley cannabis processor who was vocally critical of OCM.