OCM reports thousands of licensed stores and flags inversion, seeks more enforcement resources

Acting Executive Director John Caguirre told lawmakers that the Office of Cannabis Management has processed more than 2,100 licenses and the regulated retail footprint has grown to roughly 595 stores. He said the adoption of a state seed‑to‑sale tracking system (Metrc) marks a major step toward market transparency and that OCM has credentialed roughly 90% of licensees in the new system.

Caguirre and other industry witnesses urged lawmakers to address so‑called “inversion” — illicit product grown outside New York being laundered into licensed channels. OCM has cataloged hundreds of illicit retail locations and reported thousands of enforcement actions in 2024–25, but staff and legal constraints have limited the agency’s enforcement reach. “We cataloged more than 500 illicit locations and have completed over 2,000 enforcement actions in 2025, netting over $20,000,000 of illicit cannabis product,” Caguirre said.

Operators and consumer advocates warned the seed‑to‑sale implementation costs are currently borne by licensees and urged the state to absorb the administrative cost to avoid placing a competitive burden on small farms and processors. Several witnesses also said that retail‑level item tagging (retail IDs) increases compliance cost and urged options such as batch/lot tracking to reduce overhead while preserving traceability.

Lawmakers asked OCM for more enforcement resources and for a standing roundtable to work through inversion, testing integrity and workforce training; OCM said it would follow up with details and work with municipalities on enforcement partnerships.