🌿 New York market tops $1 billion, Oklahoma cannabis business numbers fall, and USDA set to send hemp survey

Happy Friday Pre Rollers! Welcome to another edition of The Pre Roll, the cannabis newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the industry happenings you need to know.

Here’s what we’re rolling up this week:

• New York market tops $1 billion

• Oklahoma cannabis business numbers fall

• USDA set to send hemp survey

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 ROLL CALL

Business

Empire State of High. The legal cannabis market in New York has topped $1 billion in retail sales since it launched in 2022. These numbers come from the nearly 300 adult-use dispensaries open across the state.

This is a major milestone given the challenges the market faced early on.

The fledgling cannabis industry sat at a complete standstill after a New York Supreme Court judge issued a temporary restraining order in August 2023 blocking the OCM from issuing and approving new retail licenses until the injunction was lifted December. The decision came after a lawsuit was filed by a group of military veterans alleging the agency’s process for prioritizing applicants violated the state’s Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

In March 2024, plagued by an ever-growing list of problems, Governor Kathy Hochul ordered a review of the state’s legal cannabis market. The ensuing report outlined a number of obstacles faced by the Office of Cannabis Management. The turmoil eventually led to an announcement that agency’s executive director would step down at the end of his term in September.

Business

Bound to happen Sooner or later. The number of licensed cannabis businesses in Oklahoma fell by one-third in 2024.

Struggles in the Sooner State have been well documented since voters overwhelming rejected a ballot measure for recreational cannabis legalization during a special election in March 2023 — a result many saw coming.

Loose regulations and low barriers to entry created an oversaturated and often chaotic market, leading it to become the state with the most dispensaries per capita in the United States at 36 per 100,000 residents.

In June 2023, a report by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority discovered regulated medical cannabis supply outpaced demand by at least 32 times. Many failing businesses were unable to pay their bills by later that year.

Perhaps the state’s cannabis market will see strength in (lower) numbers.

Policy

Surveying the (hemp) land. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is set to send its annual survey to hemp producers to “collect information on the total planted and harvested area, yield, production, and value of hemp in the United States in 2024.”

The survey, sent by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will go out to over 400 producers in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

NASS estimated the total value of hemp production to be $291 million in 2023, up 18 percent from 2022.

🇺🇸 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

Hawaii: Governor Josh Green signed an executive order protecting medical cannabis caregivers.

Kentucky: Medical cannabis is now legal, but isn’t available to consumers yet as all cannabis sold must be grown in-state and cultivators still need time.

New Jersey: Applications are now open for cannabis consumption lounge licenses.

💼 BUSINESS

High Tide summarizes 2024 highlights

The Canadian cannabis company, which is the second-largest cannabis retailer globally by store count, recapped key milestones of 2024.

🤝 DEALS

iAnthus acquires Cheetah

The vertically integrated cannabis operator announced its agreement to acquire the vape brand with a presence in the Illinois cannabis market.

🌏 AROUND THE WORLD

France: A medical cannabis trial that was set to end in December of last year has been extended six months through July of this year; it began in March 2021.

💨 QUICK HITTERS

• U.S. Senator Steve Daines called for “wrongfully detained” American Marc Fogel to be released from Russian prison.

• A California driver was arrested after cannabis and a baby monkey in a pink onesie were discovered in their Rolls-Royce Ghost during a traffic stop.

• The U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled special holiday-specific activations for its If You Feel Different, You Drive Different campaign focused on drug-impaired driving prevention.

• A study found daily or near-daily cannabis use was nearly three times as prevalent alcohol use among young adults ages 19 to 30.

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

• 100 of 100 US senators on marijuana, SAFER Banking Act (Ask a Pol)

• America’s marijuana industry is wilting (The Economist)

• ‘Who knows what they’re going to do?’: US cannabis industry braces itself for Trump administration (The Guardian)

• Departure of ‘cannabis czar’ leaves void on Capitol Hill (POLITICO)

• Testing Out Cannabis Edibles While Running Around Denver (Westword)

• How a Struggling Apple Orchard Became New York’s Top Cannabis Company (Inc.)

• Marijuana mints maker nails its niche with accurate dosing and full-spectrum oil (MJBizDaily)

• Medical dispensaries are closing after SD’s rejection of recreational marijuana (South Dakota Searchlight)

🎙️ POTCASTS

• Is the MSO Model Broken (Higher Exchanges)

📽️ VIDEO OF THE WEEK

🔎 JOB BOARD

• Performance Marketing Manager

  • Green Thumb Industries (GTI)

  • $85,000—$100,000

• Account Executive

  • Wurk

  • $70,000—$90,000

• Retail Account Manager

  • Nabis

  • $68,640

📨 PUFF, PUFF, PASS REEFERAL PROGRAM

Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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