Two local mayors and a supervisor are asking the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to extend cannabis growers showcases into the new year while their municipalities await the opening of their first dispensaries.
The letter, signed by the mayors of the City of Kingston, Town of Gardiner and Village of New Paltz, claims the showcases have been a boon to local cannabis farmers and distributors, and asks that the December 31, 2023 cutoff date be extended indefinitely until such time as the benefits could be realized by a legal dispensary.
The first growers showcase opened in the Village of New Paltz on August 10 of this year, a weekly three-day series of events intended as both a networking event for growers and dispensaries, as well as a farmers market for consumers. At the time, New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers described the showcase as “an interim step that has been considered…allowing local growers to sell at local markets, like farmers markets,” with the framework for the plan coming directly from the OCM.
The markets are held behind the Village of New Paltz Department of Public Works at 25 Plattekill Avenue on Thursdays and Fridays from 4-8 p.m., and on Saturdays from 1-8 p.m.,weather permitting. The New Paltz showcase has been a success, generating over $1 million in sales through the beginning of December, with lines as long as 150 people purchasing tested and legally grown cannabis and cannabis products.
That success did not go unnoticed by New Paltz’s neighbors, with both Kingston and Gardiner opening their own showcases, both of which operate six days a week in former CBD wellness shops. Both of those showcases are women-owned, with applications for dispensary licenses submitted to the state; maintaining the showcases would allow a seamless transition should the licenses be granted.
On Wednesday, December 6, the Rosendale Town Board gave conditional approval for a pop-up cannabis farmers showcase in the former Esso gas station and Stone Krafters building at 2223 State Route 32. The showcase is scheduled to take place from December 22 to 31 on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In a press release, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger expressed support for the mayors’ request.
“I strongly urge the Office of Cannabis Management to allow the Cannabis Growers Showcases to continue,” said Metzger. “These showcases are essential to the financial well-being of our small farmers, who are struggling with oversupply because of an insufficient number of retail outlets. Beyond the immediate redress they provide to farmers, the showcases are helping to build the kind of ecosystem of small-scale craft cannabis businesses that we want to see flourish here in Ulster County. It is my hope that these farmers market-style events will be allowed to continue well into the future.”
In the same press release, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey also shared support.
“We should be nimble enough to recognize and sustain a successful market opportunity when we have it, and this holds true for Cannabis Growers Showcases, which have been immensely beneficial in helping our farmers find a market for some of the cannabis oversupply and providing places to buy cannabis in the absence of legal dispensaries,” Hinchey said. “I fully support an extension of cannabis growers showcases, and alongside Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, we are looking at all avenues through which extensions, alternatives and short-term permits could be utilized to support New York farmers who continue to face detrimental financial losses.”
Rick Weissman, founder of High Falls Canna, NY and organizer of the growers showcases in New Paltz, Kingston and Gardiner said the marketplaces have been a great success for local growers and consumers.
“The popularity of these showcases is evident by the incredible turnout of local residents from Ulster and the surrounding counties,” Weissman said. “In addition to providing a much-needed avenue for consumers to purchase tested cannabis, the showcases support the ten farms and three processors who employ hundreds of people in the local area. The Showcases have provided a much-needed lifeline to our business and our 20-person team.”
As of press time, the OCM website still maintains that December 31, 2023 is the end of the CGS program, but local officials, growers and consumers continue to push for an extension
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