New York’s roll out of its recreational cannabis program—passed into law as part of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) on March 31, 2021—has been an exercise of one step forward, two steps back. As extensively covered in the media, the delays resulting from the failure to start the program in earnest have resulted in farmers sitting on thousands of pounds of cannabis, and an illicit (or “grey”) market that dwarfs the legal market in New York.

As of August 2023 (more than two years after MRTA’s passage), there are only 23 legal dispensaries open for business—some of which only offer delivery.