New York’s governor is eyeing potential leadership changes within the state’s marijuana regulatory apparatus as she reiterates her frustration with the turbulent legalization rollout—an issue that state senators are also raising with officials in a new letter telling them to “do better.”
It’s no secret that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is losing patience with the slow process of licensing cannabis retailers. In recent days, she has said she’s “very fed up” with the “disaster” of a delay that’s limited the number of regulated cannabis shops at the same time that illicit storefronts have proliferated.
To that end, the governor is proposing to expand enforcement authority so that officials are better positioned to respond to unlicensed shops, but she complained that she’s “operating within the constraints of this law” that was enacted before she took office.
“We have to have the power for localities in the state of New York and our sheriffs and the Department of Finance and Taxation to be able to go in and padlock the stores that have set up this entirely illegal market, which is even competing with those as we’re trying to open a whole new industry,” Hochul said on Monday. “So I’m not satisfied. I want more enforcement. I am looking at leadership. I’m looking at opportunities to make major changes.”
Read more at marijuanamoment.net