New York Sets New Monthly Cannabis Sales Record

Cannabis retailers in New York set a new monthly sales record in August of
$214.4 million, a remarkable jump from the previous monthly sales of $161.6
million in July and $153.2 million in June, according to Crain’s New York
Business.

The sales milestone was announced Monday at an OCM meeting by Kevin
Brennan, deputy director of analytics for the Office of Cannabis Management
(OCM). The totals represent combined medical and adult-use sales in the
state.

Officials also noted the state is poised to surpass $1.3 billion in total
2025 sales, which is more than half of the market’s total sales ($2.3
billion) since the first adult-use retailers opened in 2022.

New York passed the $2 billion mark in total sales this summer, but Brennan
noted that given the market’s sustained growth, “We could be on $3 billion
watch by the end of the year.”

Brennan also warned that the industry could see product shortages next year
as consumer demand continues to grow, due to many licensees using just a
fraction of their growing capacity.

“We have licensed 51% more than we need for 2026 and about what we need for
2027. However, given how little of that is currently online, we project an
almost 40% potential shortfall for next year.” — Brennan, via Crain’s

The state Cannabis Control Board (CCB) also considered cannabis business
applications on Monday and issued 33 new licenses, including 11
cultivators, 2 distributors, 6 processors, 8 retailers, 3 microbusinesses,
and 2 conditional adult-use retail licenses, stupidDOPE reports.