OCM enforcement change threatens cannabis dispensaries

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Office of Cannabis Management announced a change that could result in more than 100 dispensaries closing. NEWS10 talked to a local dispensary owner who said the change in enforcement would put him in a dire situation.

In downtown Schenectady, The People’s Joint has served customers for nearly a year. The owner said it was state funding that helped him open his doors and now it could be the state that forces him to shut his doors, come next year.

The People’s Joint is about to celebrate its one year anniversary in August. It’s currently open seven days a week – at least until August 2026.

Owner Daniel Taylor said earlier this week he received a letter from the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) that notified him of changes to its enforcement of a regulation that once stated a dispensary’s front door must be 500 feet from a school’s front door. 

But now, the office wants that measurement to start from property lines. He’s around the corner from Destine Preparatory Charter School.

Taylor said he was the general manager at the Palace Theatre for 13 years prior to opening The People’s Joint.

“I quit my job to come here and put my whole life on the line to start this business and to go from that to now not knowing in 12 months if I’m even going to be able to continue in my new career, it’s just unsettling,” said Taylor.

He said he won’t be able to pay back his loan, from the DASNY fund, if he’s forced to shut his doors. DASNY is New York’s public finance and construction authority. 

I asked him, “The state helped you open your doors and now they’re saying, ‘Hey you actually need to close your doors,’ how does that feel?”

Taylor responded: “It’s an uneasy feeling to be honest with you.” He added, “We might not survive if we don’t get the help we need.”

He said he’s afraid his staff will lose their jobs and they won’t be able to serve their customers. And?

“My biggest fear is just not being able to pay my bills and be in a space where I have to change my career because like I said, I changed careers and this was my main plan. I don’t have a plan B, per se. This is the plan and so we’re gonna navigate through it,” said Taylor.

And he’s not the only one. 152 dispensaries across the state were sent the same letter – most were in New York City.

“I’m hearing everything bad. I’m hearing some people are suicidal. We’ve had to give the suicide helpline to be multiple licensees,” said Matthew Robinson, the owner of Legacy Dispensary. 

His business is not one of the impacted dispensaries but as the director of the Cannabis Retail Alliance of New York, Robinson has heard from impacted dispensaries across the state. And even those that had licenses approved by OCM and have not yet opened doors.

“I’m not hearing anything positive. Everybody’s concerned with how they’re gonna pay, how they’re gonna keep living their lives. This is like a livelihood for people,” said Robinson.

He said people have invested hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, into their dispensaries.

“And they’ve used their mom‘s life savings, their brother’s life savings, they’ve used all of their money, they’ve quit their jobs, they have nothing other than this to support them. And so it’s devastating to us, as retailers as a whole, whether we’re affected or not. Because if they can shut down these guys who are doing the right thing, following the rules, being compliant, doing everything necessary, they could shut down anybody,” said Robinson.

Robinson was at an OCM meeting on Wednesday and said he’s still looking for clarity on how the impacted dispensaries move forward.

“We left pretty much feeling lost and confused. They couldn’t really provide the answers that we were looking for at the moment because I guess they’re still parsing through this but we just felt like we were lied to from the beginning. And that’s what happened, 152 people were lied to,” said Robinson.

He wants open communication and collaboration between dispensary owners, OCM and the governor’s office. Robins and Taylor believe the 152 impacted dispensaries should be grandfathered in. 

“Make it so that they don’t have to shut their doors. I understand about schools and being close to schools. I get that part, but you’ve already approved these people,” said Robinson. “It’s just a tragedy. It’s horrible. It should not be happening. This needs to be fixed. The governor needs to fix this.”