The state’s marijuana regulator has made no progress on expanding its staff, months after Gov. Kathy Hawkle launched a fierce criticism of the agency.
Felicia Reed, acting director of the Bureau of Cannabis Control, said: An interview with Spectrum News Last week, her agency, which had been short-staffed, announced it was now hiring 180 employees.
This is the same number of staff OCM hired in April. Fierce Report Hawkle was asked to point out some of the failings of cannabis regulators.
“We will prioritize recruiting and training new staff who can strengthen key agency operations and fill senior positions focused on agency operations, customer service and internal controls,” Haukle told reporters at a news conference where he announced a “total overhaul” of an agency he previously described as a “disaster.”
The Post reported last month that several senior OCM officials were leaving the company, including key staff in charge of health and safety, licensing and legal issues.
Chris Alexander, who was head of OCM at the time, resigned a week after Hockle submitted his report but had previously told the governor he planned to stay on in the position until September.
An OCM spokesman would not comment on why the agency has not retained and filled the additional 65 positions that the April report said still needed to be filled, but noted that the agency’s health and safety director is not leaving the company.
OCM also said it was “in the process of recruiting” 60 more. There were 15 vacancies The job listing was listed in the state’s job listings as of Sunday.
“The Bureau of Cannabis Control has taken significant steps to improve the agency’s core functions by initiating a robust hiring and recruitment process while making existing structures more efficient,” Hocle spokesman Miguel Arreola told the Post.
“Governor Hockle will work with OCM leadership to take the agency to the next level and continue to transform New York’s cannabis industry,” he continued.
Reid’s revelation last week coincided with another bizarre development that has left cannabis industry insiders perplexed.
Empire State Development released a request for proposals Friday that outlines its plans to outsource administration of a $5 million grant program to cover costs associated with opening cannabis dispensaries.
An Empire State Development spokesman said the company “supports the program on behalf of OCM” and outsources the work “to increase efficiency.”
“We expect applicants to propose competitive and reasonable administrative fees, which will allow us to have more funding available to award to eligible small businesses,” an ESD spokesman said.
Sources told The Post that $5 million of the grant money would be diverted from a previously announced pharmacy loan program that was supposed to be overseen by the Residence Life Board but never materialized.
