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Several top officials at New York’s marijuana regulator have resigned after Gov. Kathy Hawkle fired the agency’s chief, calling it a “disaster.”
Officials leaving the Office of Cannabis Control (OCM) include Health and Safety Director Nicole Rosa, Deputy Director for Licensing Daniel Holmes, First Deputy General Counsel Patricia Piskorski Heer and General Counsel Linda Baldwin.
The departures are taking with them years of institutional knowledge dating back to the inception of New York state’s medical marijuana program, and come after Hochl fired OCM head Christopher Alexander earlier this year.
Former staffers said the governor’s reforms have undermined morale.
“If the governor comes along and fires your boss, who you’ve worked so hard for the last three years, and says you’ve failed at your job, you might be a little upset,” one New York cannabis industry insider told The Post about the recent resignations.
In May, Hochle released a report criticizing OCM and its leadership for rolling out a cannabis program that has been riddled with complaints and sparked lawsuits.
In a mid-May announcement, Haukl said he would not reappoint Alexander, and he resigned two weeks later.
But the governor’s swift action raised questions among cannabis industry members and lawmakers concerned about prioritizing the program’s goal of diversifying the industry.
” [marijuana legalization legislation]”Our caucus remains committed to the success of this bill and will work diligently to ensure that the contributions of Rep. Chris Alexander and the countless New Yorkers who fought for this bill are not forgotten or maligned,” Rep. Michael Solages (D-Nassau), chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian American Caucus, said in a May statement.
“The departure of OCM’s first Secretary-General must not be associated with the disappearance of our important social equality goal.”
A spokesman for Mr. Haukle’s office referred questions about the departing staff to OCM, which did not respond to a request for comment.
“As New York State expands the most equitable cannabis market in the nation, my administration remains committed to building an industry that is safe for all New Yorkers and growing our small business community,” Gov. Hockle said in a separate statement Friday as he announced the opening of the state’s 150th legal cannabis dispensary.
Meanwhile, problems with the introduction of cannabis in New York are not limited to OCM.
A fund aimed at providing capital to cannabis entrepreneurs to open legal cannabis stores is being criticized as “predatory.”
Reporter City He revealed that despite protests from OCM employees, the deal with Chicago Atlantic Group, the private equity firm that would fund the program, went ahead.
According to the media report, loans from the fund will be provided at high interest rates based on astronomically inflated profit projections for the stores that are planned to open.
Last month, a company filed a lawsuit against the Dmitry Bureau, a state agency that directs and facilitates funding for state projects and initiatives, alleging that the bureau’s former head sought illegal kickbacks from no-bid contracts linked to the fund.
