June 4 - 5, 2025
Javits Convention Center
Peter Tadlock, NY 2016

NYS Cannabis Business Licensing News & More

“We decided to exhibit here because

we’re excited about

 the New York market,

the New Jersey market…”

Michael Williamson, PIPP Horticulture,
exhibiting at CWCBExpo NY 2023

Get Prime Exhibit Space Today

Michael Williamson, Director of Cultivation, PIPP Horticulture
Michael Williamson, Director of Cultivation, PIPP Horticulture
New York State News

NYS Licensing News

The Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board regulators voted on November 27 to settle the two lawsuits that held up hundreds of Cannabis Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) card holders from actually opening up their dispensaries. The temporary injunction put forth was lifted for the two lawsuits and gave the green light to the 436 licensees to finally move forward. At least 23 of those CAURD holders were ready months ago before the injunction and can now proceed.

Governor Kathy Hochul expressed that NYS is committed to supporting legal cannabis shops and shutting down illegal cannabis operations.

Governor Hochul Announces New Dispensary Openings

The submission date deadline for NYS Licensing was December 18, 2023. Governor Kathy Hochul and the Cannabis Control Board are already looking ahead with enthusiasm as NYS seeks to expand its legal cannabis marketplace as new retail shops open up. Read what they had to say on December 14 about the anticipated new dispensary openings happening now and into 2024.

Seal of Governor Kathy Hochul

First Dispensary Opened in Mt. Vernon, Westchester

Congratulations to Elevate Cannabis, the new and first legal recreational use dispensary to open up in Westchester County in Mount Vernon, New York. The dispensary opened its doors in early December and offers delivery services as well as in-store cannabis retail experiences. Elevate Cannabis is mission-oriented and is supportive of social equity causes, healing and related quality of life issues.

New Jersey News

NJCRC Announces Reduced Fees

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) announced some good news for medical cannabis patients and their caregivers. Instead of the $50 per year for most registrants and the $20 for seniors to register in the Medicinal Cannabis Program (MCP), it is now $10 for everyone as of December 7, 2023. Plus, patients and caregivers will be able to receive free Digital ID cards or pay $10 for a physical card.

NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission

More NJ Licenses Announced

The NJCRC announced dozens of new licenses being issued to applicants.

Putting cannabis business to good use and making a difference

NJ Governor Jim Murphy and Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced anti-violence measures that will be funded with $15MM, of which $5MM is coming from marijuana revenue. The program is being funded by the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Act and includes $5 million from the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund.

NJ Attorney General
Federal News

POTUS and Cannabis

President Joe Biden issued a Proclamation on December 22nd for those individuals with certain federal level marijuana convictions. “I am issuing a Proclamation that will pardon additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law,” the President stated. This recent action expands the pardons that President Biden had made previously.

International News

Germany’s Cannabis Legalization Delayed

Germany was set to legalize cannabis starting as soon as the new year but has been delayed until well into 2024 according to the German Health Minister, Karl Lauterbach. Germany appears to have a well-thought out and well debated cannabis legalization plan that includes cannabis social clubs and modifications to home grow regulations.

Ukraine’s Cannabis Bill Expected to Pass Early 2024

In our July Newsletter we highlighted that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is in favor of legalizing medical marijuana, and that the country’s legislature was poised to do so until an opposition faction blocked its passage. It is expected that this opposition will be overcome and the bill will pass in January 2024, and the law will become effective six months later.

“The bill, which initially listed cancer and war-borne PTSD as eligible conditions, moves marijuana from strictly prohibited to available for medical use with a prescription under List II of the country’s drug code.”

my cannabis
SPECIAL FEATURE: Interview with Ken R. Weinberg, MD (Part 2)

We are excited to share Part 2 of our “Cannabis as Medicine” interview with Ken R. Weinberg, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Founder of Cannabis Doctors of NY.

This month our discussion focuses on the medical marijuana market and medical marijuana patients and how adult-use legalization is affecting medical use.

Ken Weinberg, MD

Ken is a practicing physician with decades of experience in emergency medicine and urgent care. He is a published author of medical articles across many disciplines and is currently working on a book about his experiences in front-line medicine, including the 1500 or so patients he has seen as a registered Cannabis Practitioner since 2016. He is the Founder of Cannabis Doctors of New York.

Among his many medical commitments, he serves as the Attending Cannabis Consultant at Inspir – a private nursing home in New York City. At that facility he provides medical expertise and guidance for elders who are interested in using cannabis as part of their medical care. Ken works with several dispensaries in the New York area as well.

INTERVIEW, PART 2: CANNABIS AS MEDICINE

CWCBExpo – Recently, the New York State Cannabis Control Board approved six of the state’s Registered Operators (ROs)* to participate in the adult-use market. What do you think about this and how do you think it will affect the medical cannabis marijuana market for patients and appropriate patient care? Will it help? Are you concerned for patient care and are you concerned that new users who would have otherwise consulted with a medical practitioner will now not be getting the optimal medical advice?

Dr. Ken Weinberg
Dr. Ken Weinberg
Cannabis Doctors of New York
Cannabis Doctors of New York

Ken – I have mixed feelings. The fact that many of our medical patients are opting to go to the rec market has caused a precipitous drop in medical patients. And while I am sure that some of the people who have made the switch will do okay, one of the reasons I like the NY medical cannabis space is that there are pharmacists involved. Cannabis medicine is medicine, with exact dosing, possible drug interactions and effects that budtenders should not be opining on.

*Editor’s Note: Medical dispensaries (ROs) must have a registered pharmacist to dispense the medical marijuana to patients. There is also a requirement that any RO who is approved for participation in the adult-use market must have a separation of the medical marijuana and the adult-use retail sections.

CWCBExpo – Describe your recent presentation to a Northwell Resident group regarding educating them on cannabis as a medical treatment. Were there any particular conditions, diseases or symptoms that you focused on in the presentation? What was the reaction of the medical residents who attended the presentation – was it well received?

Ken – For the last three years, I’ve been giving this lecture to the Family Practice residents. I talked about the Endocannabinoid System and similarities of the plant cannabinoids to the endogenous (produced inside the body) cannabinoids.

I spoke about how well my patients with autoimmune diseases (like Inflammatory Bowel Disease) do and about how I am seeing how very beneficial cannabis can be for patients with dementia. This was the best received talk I’ve given and I suspect I left them (and an initially skeptical Attending Physician) wanting more.

“I love my involvement in cannabis medicine because it provokes me all the time, and challenges me to understand how we interact with the plant, and how it may well be involved (in the best way) with the placebo effect…”

CWCBExpo – What do you think about Psychedelics as treatment for many medical conditions? Where do you see this going?

Ken – I think this is a huge, burgeoning area of medicine with great potential for benefits. Unfortunately, as with so much else in this country, the fact that they remain Schedule 1 narcotics leads to a hodgepodge of regulations and research in various states, and the federal government unable to provide some uniformity of guidance.

CWCBExpoWhat about micro dosing and the use of psychedelics as a medicine for treatment?

Ken – Micro dosing can be a good way to start, especially for “cannabis-naive” patients and the elderly, who may be very sensitive to the effects. I’m not involved with psychedelics but they seem to be very promising for a variety of conditions.

CWCBExpo What excites you most about practicing medicine and devoting your life to it? And furthermore, what can explain the motivation for you to include cannabis as a medical treatment?

Ken – I am a third-generation MD, and one of three brothers. One brother was a Family Practice and Naturopathic physician, the other an Oriental Medicine and acupuncturist so it feels like it’s in the blood. In fact, my niece is an OB-GYN doc, making her the fourth generation of Drs. Weinberg.

I think that medicine is a field where you can continue to grow, enrich your understanding, and be stimulated intellectually as well as be emotionally gratified even as you advance in age. I love my involvement in cannabis medicine because it provokes me all the time, and challenges me to understand how we interact with the plant, and how it may well be involved (in the best way) with the placebo effect. Lastly, as you alluded to, my love and long involvement with the interface of literature and medicine has caused me to write stories of my patient encounters for many years and has now led to my writing a book incorporating those stories along with the many influences on my life as a political activist doctor and writer.

We featured Part 1 of this interview with Ken in our August 2023 Newsletter.
In case you missed it, click here to read it now.

THIS MONTH’S ARCHIVED VIDEO

“CannaVest East: Exploiting Ground Floor Valuations – Family Office Cannabis Investing 101”

We are showcasing our consumer products session from the CWCBExpo conference program at the Javits Center on June 2, 2023. This session discusses the current cannabis investment environment.

Moderated by Steven Saltzstein, FORCE Family Office; with Adam Rosenberg, President, Vlasic Bioscience; Brett Finkelstein, Founder, Phyto Partners; David Engel, CEO, President, Full Moon Real Estate Investments and Full Moon Investments.

CWCBExpo conference session, "Ground Floor Valuations" June 2, 2023

(From the left) David Engel, Steven Saltzstein, Adam Rosenberg and Brett Finkelstein.

The CWCBExpo BLOG

CWCBExpo blogs contain relevant, timely information. Recent subjects include dispensaries, and lawmakers’ pushes for reform.

A shopper stands at checkout making a purchase at a cannabis dispensary.
The CWCBExpo Speaker Proposal Deadline Fast Approaching!
The deadline is January 15, 2024.

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Happy New Year to All!

CWCBExpo, 11th Annual

June 5 – 6, 2024
Javits Convention Center, NYC

Industry Yacht Party, Liberty Island, 2022

NY and NJ Markets Continue to Expand 

Each month, Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition (CWCBExpo) offers a convenient roundup of the biggest cannabis news stories and hemp headlines emerging across the nation. Get these updates in your inbox by subscribing to our email newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter (now X) to get the most recent edition when it’s published.

Step into the final stretch of 2023 with our December regional cannabis news update. The edition spotlights a game-changing decision by New York’s Cannabis Control Board, as well as the flourishing market in New Jersey. As we close out the year, witness the expansion of markets across the Northeast as we unpack the details of some of the most pivotal moves in our area. 

MSOs approved to enter the New York adult use market

Following the state’s Supreme Court decision on December 1st to lift an injunction hindering the issuance of new Conditional Adult-Use Retail (CAURD) Licenses, the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) in New York has officially given the green light to multistate operators (MSOs) with medical marijuana licenses to enter the adult use market on December 29th, 2023. 

The decision comes exactly one year after the state launched recreational sales. Thus far, the CCB approved the following six organizations to join the adult use market: 

  • Columbia Care NY, whose parent is New York-based MSO The Cannabist Co.
  • Curaleaf NY, part of New York-headquartered MSO Curaleaf Holdings
  • Etain, owned by RIV Capital, a Toronto-based investment firm
  • NYCanna, part of New York-headquartered MSO Acreage Holdings
  • PharmaCann of New York, whose parent is Chicago-based MSO PharmaCann
  • Valley Agriceuticals, whose parent is Chicago-headquartered MSO Cresco Labs

While the waiting period had been adopted to provide a first-to-market advantage to social equity retailers and smaller supplies, gears have shifted in an effort to expand retail options as hundreds of unlicensed shops continue to plague the market. 

These six companies will eventually be permitted to set up co-located adult-use sales at up to three of their existing medical dispensaries. For the time being, however, each was approved for a single shop that can open by the end of the month. The CCB also approved new medical-only locations for both Citiva and Fiorello. 

New Jersey sales increase as prices drop 

New Jersey cannabis sales are stacking up high, as the recreational market recorded $206.1 million for Q3 2023. This brings the state’s total legal market revenue for the year to $762.9 million. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) reported a 10% increase in sales in the same quarter, from the $160.2 million in adult use cannabis revenue generated from April through June. 

According to CRC Executive Jeff Brown, consumers are attracted to the licensed marketplace, which includes 70-plus adult-use dispensaries statewide. As a result, prices for products are starting to come down. The average flower price dropped to roughly $354 per ounce at adult-use retail, representing a 10.5% decrease from January’s average price of $396. 

“New Jersey’s market continues to grow,” Brown said during the commission’s regular meeting on Dec. 7th. “For the first time in history, legal cannabis sales in New Jersey eclipsed $200 million in the third quarter of 2023. That includes just shy of $177 million of adult-use sales and just shy of $30 million of medicinal sales.”

New Jersey’s adult-use sales accounted for nearly 86% of all sales for the third quarter of 2023. The state’s medical market continues to shrink due to expanded opportunities for consumers.

More dispensaries are opening across New York 

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) has announced the opening of one dozen new adult-use dispensaries from Brooklyn to Buffalo. By the end of December 2023, the state anticipates having at least 37 adult-use dispensaries open for businesses. Among the opening locations, eight are majority Black-owned, five are Hispanic-owned, and nine are woman-owned.

“As New York expands the most equitable cannabis market in the nation, my administration remains committed to building a safe industry for all New Yorkers that will grow our small business community,” Governor Hochul said in a press release. “These new dispensaries continue our mission of strengthening our legal market while at the same time helping to push out the bad actors who skirt our laws and undermine all we are trying to accomplish.”

Below is a list of the dispensaries that have recently opened or are set to open this month. Opening dates are subject to change: 

  • Hush – 2460 Williamsbridge Road Fl 1, Bronx 10469, (Opened on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023)

  • Grow Together – 2370 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn 11223, (Opened Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023)

  • Dagmar Cannabis – 412 W Broadway, New York 10012, (Opening on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023)

  • THC Herbal Care – 1412 Lexington Ave., New York 10128 (Tentative opening, Jan. 4, 2024)

  • Happy Days – 105 Route 109, Farmingdale 11735 (Tentative opening on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023)

  • Elevate – 127 S Terrace Ave., Mount Vernon 10550 (Opened on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023)

  • The Highest Peak – Village of Potsdam, 5 Market St., Potsdam 13676 (Opened on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023)

  • The Firehaus – 7479 US Highway 11, Potsdam 13676 (Opened Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023)

  • 420 Bliss – 740 Hoosick St., Brunswick 12180 (Opened on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023)

  • Capital District Wellness – 997 Central Ave. Suite 200, Albany 12205 (Opened on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023)

  • Amsterdam Cannabis – 1451 State Highway 5S, Amsterdam 12010 (Opened on Friday, Dec. 9, 2023)

  • Premier Earth Corp – 1297 Hertel Ave., Buffalo 14216 (Opened on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023)

  • MJ Dispensary – 900 Jefferson Rd Ste 902, Rochester 14623 (Opened on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023)

Embrace growth with CWCBExpo

December marks a transformative period for the Northeast’s cannabis landscape. As we bid farewell to 2023, the region is poised for continued growth and innovation. Stay up to date with our latest updates and join us for insightful discussion at our upcoming in-person conferences – where the pulse of the industry will continue to beat strong in the new year.  

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