Six on History: Cannabis
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“Imagine when Times Square has a weed store,” says Ben Kovler, founder and CEO of Green Thumb Industries, a Chicago-based company that has medical or adult-use cannabis licenses in 12 states and has already gone public in Canada. That’s a common move for U.S. companies, since federal prohibition here means they are barred from trading on the NASDAQ or New York Stock Exchange.
Green Thumb paid $60 million in cash and stock to acquire one of New York’s 10 licensed medical marijuana companies, Fiorello Pharmaceuticals, in 2019. Sales in the state’s medical market are still slow more than five years after the first dispensaries opened, and members of the newly created Cannabis Control Board who will be responsible for hammering out the details around licensing and other industry regulations for the adult-use market haven’t yet been appointed. But Kovler says the early investment may now provide an edge in the Big Apple.
“We think New York is the city,” Kovler said. “This is where it’s at. You can’t underestimate how important it is.”
Several well-funded national and international cannabis companies already have operations in New York state, and big names like the DIY-maven Martha Stewart, the Rockefeller family, and Constellation Brands (the liquor giant that owns Corona and Svedka) will likely have a stake.
Wealthy investors and companies took two main avenues to position their entry into the adult-use market in New York: Hemp and medical marijuana. ... "
"We are working on regulations and hope to have something by the summer," Polite said, of internal laws that will govern how shops can sell the produce. How, and if, the program is open for sales by tribal smoke shops on Montauk Highway are "questions that have to be answered by tribal members" through a vote, he said.
And while the tribe expects any recreational-use regulations to mirror those expected to be imposed statewide, such as minimum age restrictions, Polite emphasized that the tribe has "100% jurisdiction" over on-reservation sales.
The federally recognized Shinnecock Nation is a sovereign government that sets its rules through a governing council of trustees and committees with full tribal votes on major initiatives. Last year, the full tribe voted to create a new economic zone that will house the tribe's first on-reservation Class II casino, with ground breaking happening this summer. The marijuana facilities will be located in the same zone.
New York State on March 31 legalized adult use of recreational marijuana but won’t license facilities to sell it recreationally for 18 months. Polite said the tribe plans to apply a fee to recreational sales, if approved, to use toward social programs, including law enforcement and education, on the reservation."
Lawmakers in Mexico have approved a bill to legalize recreational cannabis, but in a country still marred by a deadly drug war, the proposal has proved divisive.
