New York Licensed Small Adult Use Conditional Cannabis Growers Speak Out- AUCC Responses to CFA Cannabis Farmers Alliance Stakeholder Joint Senate Hearing October 30, 2023

Original Source For This List is Courtesy of AUCC Grateful Valley Farm Grower Tess Interlicchia

Preface

I grew up on the West Side of Buffalo, New York, between Lafayette Ave. and Grant Street, about two blocks from the Canadian border. The same house that my Mom and Grandfather were raised in. I was born in the Rust Belt, and my ex used to say there was a fine layer of it “right under the surface.” When people think of New York, they think of the city. They don’t see the rural parts, and the small working-class cities that have been gasping for air since the 1980s are often not part of that narrative. My single mom did the best she could because our dad was taken from us often, a constant casualty of the Drug War, a little Greek Tragedy that arced simultaneously with my brain’s development. A constant reminder that trust is earned and choices matter. The way I grew up offered me foresight that is now envied by those who had parents who could afford to protect them. I fled Buffalo and ended up in California in 2008 because I loved cannabis, and I knew I’d end up getting arrested at some point if I didn’t, or even worse, live forever with my Sicilian mother.

 

This New York CAURD “rollout” hits harder for me because small farmers in NY are always the underdog, and this was supposed to be their time to thrive. I cried the whole time I was transcribing this from an original copy I found on LinkedIn with a format that was difficult to quote. I’ve seen a few articles made by the underpaid and overworked on this topic, but I wanted to sit down and type out each one. Please use this freely as a resource when reporting on this nightmare. If you’re a NY retailer and you need affordable help with opening once you get that much deserved golden ticket you know what Rust Belter to contact. If you’re looking to enter the cannabis trade, but you don’t know where to start please contact me so I can give you a healthy dose of reality. I can tell you firsthand that it will taste better than a divorce. – Beth Myers, CannManage

 

Also, I want every lawyer and consultant who sells application guidance as a revenue stream to sit down and read this entire 27-page transcript and remember these stories before you secure another licensing contract with a small company that is coming to you for advice on a newly regulated market.

We all knew that NY did not codify CAURD. By changing their tune OCM allowed for litigation to hold up the process. It isn’t the AUCC grower’s fault that this is happening. Still, I want you to think about these New York farmers and how bottlenecked Retail licensing rounds can lead to cultivation and manufacturing failures in a market that nearly prohibits vertically integrated models. 

I was a technical writer at the time. But, when my friends and family asked if I wanted to open a Dispo with them, I told them to WAIT and start building a business plan FIRST.

 

Introduction

In April 2023, the New York Senate Cannabis Subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D), was established to address the challenges in the state’s cannabis legalization implementation. The Subcommittee, in collaboration with the Senate Agriculture, Finance, and Investigations & Government Operations Committees, held a joint hearing on October 30, 2023, to gather stakeholder feedback and foster a more equitable recreational cannabis marketplace. This hearing, a response to the ongoing crisis faced by cannabis farmers due to delayed retail store openings and litigation-related licensing pauses, featured testimonies from various officials, including Chris Alexander, executive director of the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

 

The Cannabis Farmers Alliance(CFA), an advocacy group for small cannabis farmers, surveyed its members in preparation for this pivotal hearing. Over 30 small-scale cultivators shared their experiences, detailing the severe impacts of New York’s sluggish market rollout on their businesses, finances, and personal lives. This document is a comprehensive transcription of these responses, presented verbatim. It offers a raw and unfiltered glimpse into the struggles of these farmers, underscoring the urgent need for legislative solutions and support from the state in the wake of a rollout that has left small growers facing significant financial hardship and uncertainty. 

 

It also has activists and industry experts demanding Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) to be codified, just like the Adult Use Conditional Cultivators (AUCC) and Adult Use Conditional Processors (AUCP), in this case by the legislature. This would prevent lawsuits such as those preventing CAURD licensees from opening their dispensaries and relieving the AUCC growers from a living nightmare, including those from other historically underrepresented groups and multi-state operators who are against the latest round of social equity applicants.

 

The following answers to these 9 CFA questions have been transcribed exactly as they were submitted to the survey. Their replies are listed in their entirety. These firsthand accounts of New York and United States cannabis history offer an unfiltered glimpse into the struggles of small-scale cannabis farmers who have experienced firsthand what happens when a state’s regulatory framework fails to maintain a culture of accountability concurrently. Blame also lies in consulting and law firms that oversell dreams to those counting on them to be pragmatic when they are most vulnerable.

 

Question #1 – How Were You Harmed Financially By This Industry?

 

“Yes.”

 

“I haven’t been yet.”

 

“Loss of income, loss of product due to extended shelf time sitting severe impact on personal finance as there are no banking opportunities.”

 

“I had to take in another job to support my household & business which has taken away from time I need to spend on my farm. Because I could not sell my crop there were extra expenses for storage and security. We had to choose less expensive solutions to issues and upgrades we needed that were not the quality that we were intending to do. We had to cut back on personal items which has lowered our quality of life.”

 

“I’ve lost over $20,000 in expenses and over a few hundred hours in time to this venture.”

 

“So far, yes.”

 

“My husband and I have put almost $200,000 of our savings and retirement funds into the business with no way of paying ourselves back in sight. As we are of retirement age, this is a very distressing situation for us.”

 

“Excessive and unnecessary fees and compliance requirements, combined with virtually no retail operations available to sell to.”

 

“First, the hemp industry disaster created $500,000 in debt because we built the infrastructure and investment but got virtually no return for 3 years. Then the Cannabis license opened and we borrowed more money in hopes we would make money. Because of the lack of dispensaries open and the entire structure of the program we are barely getting by and sinking further into debt. We have great quality biomass and in distillate, but the market has been a complete bust leaving us going into our secton harvest completed and less than 1/3 of last year’s product sold.”

 

“Significant loss of investment, had to quit a federal job as a civil engineer due to growing cannabis.”

 

“Every single way imaginable. I’ve had to borrow money for over a year to feed my family and pay bills. My credit is completely destroyed from missing too many mortgage payments. “My farm approached foreclosure twice. My children have been affected negatively which is what makes me the most upset. I sold my tractor in desperation to pay bills and groceries and have been left unable to farm other crops without it. It will take years to crawl out of this hole. I had to take a full-time job off the farm with a three hour commute daily. I’m devastated.”

 

“The State projected a timeline for store openings that would have allowed us an entire year of sales that we produced products for and had no market for. Now this year’s harvest is in and those products have little to no value.”

“There are no dispensaries! There are no retail outlets to sell the crop! We have spent all of our savings growing this crop after losing money growing hemp. We are in financial distress and need help!”

 

“With little to no places to sell my 2022 harvest, I’m two years behind on my property taxes and will lose my family home in a few short months.”

 

“Not enough CAURD licenses to sell to.”

 

“My entire savings has been invested into this industry, we’ve followed every law beyond the book, as we’ve been so defeated by the black market and over/under regulations. The lack of retail space to sell our now obsolete harvest has left us with products that not only lost all value but have now become toxic to our futures, as an unhappy dispensary or customer is amplified through the masses via social media and personal interactions.”

 

“No retail to sell means no revenue and the investor is pulling out and suing.

 

“Mostly cash flow issues to operate a healthy business.

 

“The nickel pass limit levels for NYS are way too low, and our crop failed for nickel. Therefore, our entire cannabis crop could not be sold as a flower product. The other states across the nation don’t test. for Nickel and our food crops don’t have nickel limits this low.” [Editor’s Note: After this hearing, on November 9, 2023 the OCM changed nickel limits.]

 

“By the licensing and regs not geared for the smaller of cultivators and operators, we have not been given the same opportunities that the larger companies have had gaining entry into the slim marketplace we were expecting.”

 

“We initially invested approximately 30k into our 2022 cannabis grow and because there was no markets as was being touted there would be …WE HAVE NOT MADE A SINGLE DIME… this in turn stressing our original investment in the CBD hemp space. The financial income that we were hoping to derive from the sale of THC cannabis was to be invested into building our CBD business of five years. This income was not realized and has severely hampered our building our CBD business. If we had known there would be no dispensaries open and basically no market …we would not have invested in the THC cannabis side.”

 

“Yes”

 

“Regulations and requirements are expensive for small-time self-funded farmers.”

 

“In order to attempt to save our business, we had to take extreme financial measures. As a 31-year-old, I took my car off of the road so I did not have personal expenses such as car insurance, gas, and maintenance costs. Both partners have borrowed a significant amount of money from their retirement plans in order to keep the business afloat. As one partner is 59 years will be unable to recuperate those funds. Due to one vehicle being taken off the road, we have now utilized one vehicle for all deliveries and put an abundance of mileage and repair costs into that vehicle.”

 

“We have spent our life savings on building our farm, which was just started in late 2019/2020.”

 

“We have invested over $300,000 and have had minimal return. It is hard to get an exact picture until we do taxes at the end of the year and see how much more we will lose.”

 

“I’ve spent all of my savings and have sold half of my stocks/investments that were meant for retirement. I’m a one-person show and I’m sitting on pounds of really good flower, but I have made $0 because of the lack of stores open.”

 

“No, we’re to sell it.”

 

“Since there is no cap on licenses, it is difficult to assure investors that the New York market will not become saturated.”

 

Question #2 – How has lab testing harmed you?

“N/a.”

 

“I haven’t been yet.”

 

“Lab testing has become a very expensive expense in launching multiple craft products. Lab testing has been expensive. We did a few R&D tests to see where our produce stood. We saved enough money to do an official test which we passed everything except Nickel content by .5 ug/g for smokable. We can not afford to test again with the prospects of failure. Recently the OCM has changed the requirements for Nickel making our product pass for smokable. We do not know if we will be allowed to change this result to allow us to sell a more valuable product. With lab results that had not passed made our crop less valuable. For months there were not many labs that were available to test & there is no standardized testing standards that all the labs have to follow, currently labs use several different test to determine the presence of Aspergillus.” [Editor’s Note: After this hearing, on November 9, 2023 the OCM changed nickel limits.]

 

“The initial lab testing pricing, combined with the notably poor consistency and quality in testing and possibly shady tactics of some, has led to me not testing or selling my first-year flower and has made it hard to consider testing and selling what I do have due to tests being failed for almost anything unless irradiation is used, which I’m not willing to do.”

 

“My first lab failed/then passed me. This literally cost ten of thousands in re-packaging. Competitors with outdoor seeded weed make millions because their labs have extremely high THC. That lab won’t service my area and I’m jealous.”

 

“We have experienced inconsistencies in testing which makes it hard to rely on.”

 

“The inconsistencies are atrocious from lab to lab—differences of 10-15+% THC FROM THE SAME strain. Turn around time is up to two months. Now we have to WAIT for someone to pick up the sample can take weeks when it was needed yesterday. Absolutely broken system.”

 

“Aspergillus testing not only required us to remediate an entire batch, which is not scientifically supported, but it complicated the process for our lab, holding them up for weeks due to inconsistent and inconclusive results. This caused us to miss a critical time window to release our products. We cannot afford to test different strains and different products because of the cost. The cost of test limits the products we can sell and puts us further into financial distress! Aspergillus has killed us with almost our whole harvest needing to be remediated before we can sell but there is nowhere to sell.”

 

“Aspergillus is an opportunistic pathogen that only affects persons who are severely immunocompromised; there is no evidence in the literature of a person with a functioning immune system ever being infected by an organism that we are exposed to and breathing in every day of our lives. LOOK AT THE SCIENCE – NOT THE SALES PITCHES! Growing organically almost ensures we will test positive for the presence of this organism, and the requirement must be dropped. Remediation and retest costs amount to thousands of dollars that we don’t have. Persons with compromised immune systems can purchase medical marijuana (which is all irradiated) instead of AUC – this should the EASIEST thing to fix.”

 

“The exorbitant cost of lab testing is prohibited and the pass/fail on aspergillus made it impossible to sell smokable flower without the costly remediation of the products.”

 

“Not at this time.”

 

“How has lab testing helped? It started with the bottlenecking- only 4 labs were open. Then we wasted tens of thousands on this and had almost everything fail only because of a pass/fail Aspergillus. PCR tests should not be used as they still detect dead DNA which isn’t even harmful. These standards are for MEDICAL and should never have been adopted for recreational cannabis. The inconsistencies are atrocious from lab to lab—differences of 10-15+% THC FROM THE SAME strain.”

 

“Way overpriced, too many required hurdles to jump before we can get product to retail. Lot testing requirements dig into our profit.”

 

“Lab testing is unaffordable for our scale of production and processing, with the 7 day rule that’s been injected into our already overflowing list of expenses. With no apparent direction for recovering those funds, it’s a serious threat to finish stability and will ultimately lead to an uptick of criminal operating procedures.”

 

“Slow, Expensive, inefficient & None of the labs for same product has same results. Aspergillus should be limit not pass fail especially since only hoop or outdoor allowed.”

 

“Too expensive.”

 

“And has been unreasonably costly.”

 

“The lab took over a month to get our results back to us, and failed our entire crop for nickel. It has not.” [Editor’s Note: After this hearing, on November 9, 2023 the OCM changed nickel limits.]

 

“Lab testing has not so much hurt us, however without any income, the expense and logistics of testing has impaired what type of end product we are involved in. The testing facility is 4 hours away from us, and in addition to the testing fees there is a fee for the lab to send someone to acquire the sample. The aspergillus testing is seemingly a problem as has been attested to by numerous creditable cannabis experts. Aspergillus is present everywhere, we had only one batch test negative, and if that batch was not going to manufacture extract we would have to again pay someone to remediate it which is insanely expensive.”

 

“Financially.”

 

“Cost of testing is ridiculously expensive !!!!!!! Let’s gouge the cultivators on every level.”

 

“Lab testing is one of the biggest hurdles to get product to market. The aspergillosis testing makes it impossible to pass without remediation which adds cost and time to the process. Remediation has high minimums and we are a single greenhouse farm that cannot always meet the minimum requirement. Recently, an additional cost has been for the lab to pick up the product for testing, which we do not have the option to opt out of.”

 

“Lab testing has been extremely challenging for all cultivators. Aspergillus testing in New York essentially makes it so that all smokeable products must be remediated before going to sale. This adds another large amount of capital required to tak an already finished product ot the market. Recently, we lost our ability to trnasport samples ourselves to the lab which once again adds another level of expense to the process. The cost of the full panel test and the enterire testing protocol is expensive.”

 

“Inconsistent result from lab to lab, constantly changing regulations mean I don’t know if my crop is going to be within limits or not.”

It’s expensive, but I understand the need and I believe it is necessary. We need more 

labs.

 

“No lab.”

 

“More options for lab testing can create an environment where price gouging cannot survive.”

 

Question 3 – How Have the Regulations Harmed You?

 

“Lack the confidence in OCM, financially scarred.”

 

“Many of the regulations slow our business growth down – can greenhouses legally do light dep? Many regulations are geared towards the large producers we small farms producing finished goods less than one pound are struggling to meet every single regulation requirement.”

 

“Regulations were altered or added to adding to the expense & time invested in remaining in compliance. Certain regulation like having internet in a remote location where there is no internet coverage.”

 

“The over-regulation of the industry has led me to be non-competitive with black market growers and distributors. New York is so focused on regulating what it can, that it is ignoring that the high production costs and over-regulation of direct sales from growers have led legal growers to be largely non-competitive with unregulated, unmonitored, and unenforced black market growers and distributors who can pivot quickly and sell much cheaper with better margins and less risk of total crop or inventory loss.”

 

“The regulations allowing the RO’s to wholesale and has devalued all AUCC’s and put us head to head with the biggest brands in the industry at a time when we need 1000’s more stores to justify these 11 giant grower operations.”

 

“The regulations are seriously overwrought. They stigmatize the crop when the goal should be to normalize it. They seem like they were written at the height of Reagan era War on Drugs. On the agricultural side, they fail to use existing regulatory frameworks, such as DEC pesticide application regulations, or the National Organic Program as guidelines for growers. Instead, the regulators came up with their own regulations. It is obvious that this was done without any knowledge of agriculture or consultation with experienced farmers, resulting in regulations that are often absurd, frustrating, and overly cumbersome. For us, and other growers, the result is in an inordinate amount of time and money spent to try and stay in compliance.”

 

“The most ridiculous and unnecessary requirement is the seed-to-sale software requirement, which is NOT required by the MRTA. The MRTA only requires tracking of excise tax collections made by the RETAILERS, NOT CULTIVATORS. This requirement can cost us up to $1,000.00/month, and is absolutely useless to anyone but the ROs. Increasing security requirements are another useless requirement, and anyone who grows Cannabis can appreciate this (how many cultivators have had crops stolen?). Also, the regulations are written so that only processors and retailers can make any profit in this – farmers can only sell to processors, who then sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers, making the price of the final product absurdly expensive compared to what ROs and the illegal market can sell at.”

 

“The social equity program was a disaster. And the promise of funding to those building dispensaries and then it was just not given made the whole industry fail. If social equity had only been a portion of the licenses granted, then people with business backgrounds and capital could have easily opened dispensaries. The hoops the OCM has created on every level has made it more.”

 

“Regulations are not created for the smaller licensed cultivators. Operating cost to fulfill current requirements for the small business does not equate to the current market pricing and returns due to the larger 4+ processor license holding cultivators/companies that are defining the market value and squeezing the craft cultivations out. All cultivators should be allowed to process on multiple levels due to the fact that most if not all processors will not work with small batch + scale cultivators.”

 

“The ever changing and movement of the ‘goalposts’ only serves to hamper the ‘small cultivator!’ as each change or addition of regulations seem to incur more financial expense for the cultivator.”

 

“Financially.”

 

“Constantly changing.”

 

“Too many regulations and way too much paperwork to manage efficiently as a small time family farm. They are geared towards Big Money companies and staff. 2 employees that are farmers and have 9-5 jobs to support ourselves regardless of a small crop.”

 

“We find it challenging to adapt to changing regulations which impede our ability to respond quickly to market shifts and opportunities. The regulations impose additional cost such as special packaging to be recyclable and child proof and seed to sale tracking which has an additional monthly cost and hardware cost. These additional costs make it hard for a small business to hire additional employees. We struggle to compete with larger corporations that have more resources to handle compliance and navigate regulatory complexities. The complexity of regulation can lead to unintentional violations, which we have experienced, which has the potential to lead to fines, legal issues, and reputational damage. The regulations restrict our ability to advertise in order to grow our brand.”

 

“As a cultivator, having to work with a licensed processor to bring my own product to the white label stage has a huge impact on our potential bottom line. Giving up 40% of my product was not in my business plan year in and year out.”

 

“Keeping up with the changing regulations is difficult as a small farm that does not have capital to hire any outside employees/consultants to help navigate the regulations. The complexity of the regulations combined with the OCM’s inability to answer questions adequately or sometimes even at all, have forced licensees to come up with their own interpretations of what the regulations are difficult. No help for the farmers who are drowning. No oversight to the processors who are taking advantage of the situation and lowering market value. The lack of dispensaries open has destroyed the market and Noone can make money with rock bottom prices due to lack of demand (more nowhere to sell).

 

“Hold us to higher standard then unregulated market.”

 

“It seems as if every single wrench imaginable was thrown at the farmers to take us down Where to start???”

 

“By allowing ROs too much market share too quickly”

 

“The cost of renewing our license is going to break us! We cannot afford the license fees! We cannot afford the testing fees. We need relief from the regulatory fee we are being 

required to pay!”

 

“Pass fail testing on a common mold found everywhere is ludicrous.”

 

“Constant changes in regulatory demands that affect our daily operations.”

 

“The harm is substantially growing as time passes and the effects are becoming more apparent Mentally, financially, physically.”

 

“Inconsistent, changing, we comply but no retail opened which Financially bankrupt farmers if you have product you were told to grow and cannot sell so goes to waste”

 

“Track and trace – individual plant tagging will be burdensome when implemented”

 

“Some are unreasonable for small farm operation”

 

“The nickel pass/fail limits practically have put us out of business.” [Editor’s Note: After this hearing, on November 9, 2023 the OCM changed nickel limits.]

 

“Stating. There have been massive amounts of confusion amongst licensees at all levels. When guidance is needed, the OCM provides nothing.”

 

“to reference an over-used analogy, it’s like being strapped into a plane that is being built while it’s in the air except that the pilot is blind and has lost all sense of direction and your seatbelt won’t unlock and you weren’t given a parachute.”

 

“I spend as much time doing paperwork as I do cultivation. It’s not proportional to any other business I have had, or worked in. And I work in healthcare which is highly regulated. Things like compliance about bathroom logs and cleaning logs while I’m a 1 person operation seem overbearing. Meanwhile, there is no way to make money because of the overbearing nature of opening dispensaries.”

 

“Made you spend too much money for no reason.”

 

“It is imperative to the future of the New York cannabis market that there is a limit on all licenses. It is potentially harmful to businesses and investors if policymakers do not implement a cap on all licenses.”

 

Question 4 – How Has The Slow “Roll Out” Of Retail Stores And Multiple Lawsuits Affected You?

 

“Almost zero confidence, if I can’t sell my products, I’m going to lose even more money which has deeply affected me as a grower and how I approach this all.”

 

“Not sure there will be a market for our crop. Investors don’t want to invest in Cultivation right now.”

 

“Loss of income limited shelf space means less opportunities to get on a shelf with just one or two products.”

 

“We wanted to sell our biomass but the Processors were offering decreasing splits to the point that it would be giving our biomass away. Without income we could not pay for lab test to see if we could have smokable flower which would be more valuable. Every month that has gone by there are bills that were accruing just to store the product properly as we waited. Our produce also was losing value from degradation over this time.”

 

“Yes. My main investor pulled out due to the Michigan Lawsuit and the failure of New York to open the amount of dispensaries promised in the proposed timeline. My business plan essentially collapsed at that point and I was forced to try to run the business at almost too small of a scale to succeed with the uncertainty of whether or not there would actually be an outlet to sell my flower.”

 

“Every month we lower our prices to compete with each other. We can’t sell last year’s crop.”

 

“It has crushed our business. We have no reliable income from a product that everyone seems to want, as indicated by the thriving gray market in NYS. We have used up our personal funds and do not have access to capital to continue. We are experienced farmers (40 years growing certified organic vegetables) and had a solid 4 prong business plan to raise capital. For example, our first biomass crop was very successful and very high quality. We had planned to use the money raised from sales of the distillate made to finance further business development. But the distillate is sitting in a couple of AUCP’s storage because there is no way to get the products on the shelves of nonexistent dispensaries.”

 

“The OCM’s decision to violate the MRTA and only allow persons convicted of previous drug offenses to apply for retail licenses for the past two years has been an unmitigated disaster for the entire supply chain. Even with Cannabis Growers Showcases, which is a bandaid at best, we’re still sitting on the bulk of last year’s harvest, and now we’re harvesting still preparing this year’s harvest. What happened to the Governor’s promise made in December 2022 to open 20 stores per month? Why hasn’t the Governor directed the OCM to follow the MRTA? I will, at best, get 10% of the value of my crop. Have the OCM and CCB go for 2 years without any income and see how well they do.”

 

“We have 3 processors that processed our material from last year, only one has sold anything for us, the other two have investors that back out, contracts with co-packers constantly falling through because with a lack of retail stores no one wants to make products for them to not have a place to sell it. The price keeps dropping for distillate because of the excess sitting at every processor. The lawsuits just add to all of our, the lack of dispensaries being opened.”

 

“Have not sold any cannabis. Only grew 30 plants for 2023 growing season. Why grow if there is no market. Wasted growing season. There isn’t even a biomass market. Our intent was to grow biomass first season, start to refine products and strains in second year. I’ll be damned if I do splits with a processor. No other industry allows processors to have an undetermined payment schedule.”

 

“It has completely halted an outlet to sell our products to.”

 

“See first answer.”

 

“Having no place to sell our crop has financially bankrupted our family!”

 

“I have passing pre rolls but with two dispensaries open in WNY I have to drive 8hrs to NYC to find dispensaries.”

 

“Limited buyers and heavy competition for shelf space in the retail outlets. Not enough retail outlets to support needed sell prices to make a profit.”

 

“There’s no question that the intentionally stalled rollout was designed to weed out the competition and set the financial burden on the shoulders of New York families and communities, we were used as sacrifices to the conglomerates that ultimately are motivated by greed of profit, and have destroyed the opportunities for these socially and economically unstable community to be supplemented with funds created from the very industry that was criminalized, and precisely the reason for the blight these underdeveloped neighborhood have faced.”

“Bankruptcy, legal complaints, tenured staff layoffs.”

 

“Major financial issues.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The slow rollout of stores facilitated the overabundance of unsold harvested cannabis. It has allowed out-of-state brands to dominate shelf space and sell at a loss because they can. 

 

“Again as explained in the first question… If we had known there would be no dispensaries open and basically no market…we would not have invested in the THC cannabis side. It has impacted us financially and that in turn has affected a once very strong business partnership/relationship with a stressor that was not experienced prior to investing in the THC cannabis realm.”

 

“Financially.”

 

“N/A – We planted a small test crop.”

 

“We rely on dispensaries to sell our product, therefore the delay in accessing the market limited our ability to generate revenue and cover operational costs. We invested in infrastructure, licenses, and cultivation. The delay in store openings and legal battles lead to increased overhead cost and financial challenges in order to sustain a business. Ongoing lawsuits create uncertainty in the industry and small farmers like ourselves struggle to plan for the future, secure financing, or make informed business decisions. We are unsure about the stability of the market. We have also stored our desolate with the hopes to create different extraction products, but with the small number of open stores, we are unable to find companies willing to take on that challenge.”

 

“It has impeded us from going to white label products for retail dispensary sales. It doesn’t make sense to spend even more money to try and make money with very few dispensaries open currently and with so few dispensaries open we have had to destroy 500 lbs of fresh frozen product from 2022, we no longer had the capacity to keep it with 2023 harvest in the process.”

 

“The slow rollout and multiple lawsuits have create a lack of a fully functioning market capable of absorbing the product that has been grown. Small farmers across the state are sitting on products taht have already gone bad.”

 

“Lack of stores to sell in led us to dump loads of viable flower into biomass that we haven’t been able to get processed so we were doubly screwed.”

 

“I dropped off hundreds of pounds of frozen to processors in MAY and have received $0 because they are waiting to sell it. I finally dropped off 300 prerolls this month to a dispensary 4 hours from my farm after trying since May to find something local.”

 

“No. We’re to sell.”

 

“It has been difficult to retain investors because of the inability to plan for a secure supply chain.”

 

Question 5 – Who Do You Hold Accountable For This Disastrous Rollout?

Question 6  – How Much Have You Lost Financially?

 

“I’ve lost more than I gained and this should be a thriving and exponential industry, creating jobs and money but I find myself just spending money.”

 

“Right now, nothing.”

 

“297,323.”

 

“$400,000.”

 

“I’ve easily lost over $20,000 through the course of this venture.”

 

“In the last year we are down 1.5 mil after buying our greenhouse.”

 

“About $200,000 of our own savings and retirement. We are so far in at this point that we can’t afford to get out. We need to sell our existing inventory to be able to get back to where we were before this fiasco.”

 

“I’m probably one of the smallest cultivators in the state, and I’ve lost $60,000.”

 

“This is hard to say. Because the value of what we have keeps going down as well as no sales in general and borrowing money to just get by, the lack of money to pay any workforce so myself and my husband are forced to do all the work and not even get paid, needing to go to food pantries to eat and scrimp on everything, we are on the verge of losing the farm all the time, can’t pay taxes, etc.”

 

“100k.”

 

“So much…2,500,000.”

 

“We have lost everything put in so far, and it has drained the profits from our existing produce farm.”

 

“$500,000.”

 

“- invested over 300 thousand dollars at this point w no clear path to recoup the investment.”

 

“Undetermined amounts if you are too add on the potential opportunities lost for the first movers losses, stress, time away from other business, lost family time, stress to family and friends volunteering their extra time and resources… Just the actual dollars spent and not recovered are over $700,000.”

 

“$3.5Million.”

 

“$240,000.”

 

“$350,000+.”

 

“Presently…too include 2022/2023 growing season…approximately $35,000. If we were to include the expected income we would have realized anywhere from 250-400k.”

 

“150k.”

 

“N/A.”

 

“A significant amount of our inventory from year one is still being stored, which was valued at $800,000 during last years harvest season and is now close to the expiration date. In order to start the business, we worked with investors and borrowed $300,000, which we have been unable to pay back. We are a family owned and run farm and have been unable to receive any type of salary in the past two years. In total, we have lost over 1.1 million dollars plus salary.”

 

“We have invested over $500k over the last 3 years, not including the lost wages from my lawn care/landscaping business which I chose to shut down for this season to run the farm.”

 

“The farm had a year one cash loss of over $200,000. This does not include the value of the rest of our 2022 crop which is potentially unsellable at this time, due to the new season’s crop being harvested. It also does not include payroll for labor. Based on the breakdown of hours worked by owners, we have paid ourselves at a value far below minimum wage.”

 

“Estimated $300,000. My other business has been seriously impacted also because the cannabis operation takes all the available funds and then some. I have taken a line of credit against my farm and maxed out all available sources of loans/financial support. I worry that if I lose my farm, I lose not just my business but my home. Owe taxes to the county, school, and IRS.”

 

“About $50,000.”

 

“$250,000.”

 

“3.5 million in potential investments.”

 

Question 7 – How Much Money Should Be Available To Help Bail Out The Cultivators?

 

“I have lost out on a lot of money as well as spent a good amount. I could have invested more money into my grow but with the lack of confidence, lack of dispensaries, the market lacked too many things for me to navigate confidently.”

 

“I think that upwards of 100k should be provided to effectively handle this. We have fees to pay additional cultivators, fees to pay people to harvest, to trim, lab fees, seed fees, cost of pots, soil, the list is long. I personally would have paid 45k to work 1/4th an acre if I knew it would pay off and I wouldn’t lose my shirt on this industry.”

 

“There should be a billion dollar program to jumpstart all small cannabis companies.”

 

“50 % of documented loss on tax statements.”

 

“$150,000,000”

 

“How much does the state want small farmers to succeed despite the lack of available farm loans? Is the state willing to see us as farmers? I don’t know if there’s a good number, but I don’t know if I’d continue to recommit to this market with less than $100,000 in working capital.”

 

“$500,000 each”

 

“No clue. Not My wheelhouse.”

 

“AUCC Should get a minimum of $24,000”

 

“I think a program that buys all the distillate and product from the 2022 harvest and sets a fair market price would help greatly. We should all receive subsidies of $500,000 which is less than half of what we expected to make the first year. As well, those who have provisional licenses should be granted the new license at no cost for the next 2 years and if the state requires tracking more than just allowing us to keep track they should pay for it. Adding additional monthly expenses to farmers who have made nothing due to the failure of this program roll-out is criminal.”

 

“National pricing for cannabis.”

 

“600,000,000”

 

“200,000 each”

 

“The same amount that has been set aside to assist CAURD’s $150,000,000.”

 

“I grew millions of dollars worth of smokable flower that is now worth less than my investment.”

 

“As much as possible.”

 

“400 Million.”

 

“300 Million.”

 

“100 Million.”

 

“50,000-100,000”

 

“All AUCC’s should receive a $250,000 settlement check from NYS.”

 

“Sliding scale, more for smaller and less for the cultivators with multiple employees and licenses. At the very least what we have invested, and possibly a fair portion of the expected income based upon what was grown. We are not able to invest in crop insurance as most farmers are. The state who seemingly promised dispensaries and a market, while heavily regulating this commodity and not delivering…should at the very least attempt to rescue the small farmer. In addition, the next two years’ application and licensing fees should be paid for by the state.”

 

“50 millions.”

 

“Case by case financial help to bail out cultivators.”

 

“We would personally request 1 million dollars to cover our loses imposed by the slow roll out, and have the ability to pay back our investors, sustain our business and hire community workers. However, with the amount of farms and pounds that have been unsold state wide, I feel $500 Million at the minimum is required to correct the wrong.”

 

“$150k per cultivator.”

 

“The total of expenses plus value of product that became unmarketable should be made available to cultivators who were licensed to grow.”

 

“I don’t know. Anything would help, really.”

 

“I’ll take the automatic conversion and leniency/more time to comply on some of the strict regulations.”

 

“50 million.”

 

“A commitment that our licenses will retain value by capping all licenses would create an environment where investors could feel safe.”

 

Question 8 – How And How Much Has This Roll Out Affected Your Mental And Physical Health? The Dynamics Of Your Family And Home?

 

“I don’t have a life, my mental health is shot and suicidal thoughts are often. I’m happy I’m not married or have children because I can’t imagine the cultivators that do have them. If I was married, I’m confident the marriage would be ended by this business. I’m too busy to have a life or do anything because I have to work to keep the money going so I can spend it on my grow.”

 

“I’m very, very stressed.”

 

“Divorce.”

 

“Daily we feel like we have no control over our future. I know we can grow cannabis but that doesn’t seem to be good enough. Every step of the way there has only been vague verbal support by the state but the actions have been absolutely the opposite. I feel emotional drained from being led astray & mounting amount of burden placed on our heads to figure out how not to fail. As a farmer we succeed in growing 2 seasons of cannabis but we can not go beyond that because we do not have the permission from the state to do anything else. I work from 7 AM-9PM 7 days a week trying to make enough money to get by & taking care of the farm, my parents & my household. There is no room to decompress. The state wants a business plan but our plan changes constantly since there is no consistency. I feel like the OCM is an overbearing parent that you can never please, this is passive aggression bullshit that is used to make the victim feel like it is their fault things are not going well, they are emotionally abusing the people they claim they are trying to help.”

 

“My mental health has plummeted. I’ve developed anxiety and stress levels that I wasn’t aware were in my realm. I feel like a failure every single day, and it’s hard to approach a lot of things in life the same. My demeanor has changed from happy, positive, and upbeat to mostly beat down, tired, sad, and disappointed in myself. My family life has suffered immensely. What I was counting on to build a legacy for my family has led my significant other to despise what I’m doing, as I’m spending all my free time and available savings on this. She was ok with it when the ‘worst case scenario’ was breaking even with maybe a living wage worth of profit. As the rules changed every day, dispensaries failed to open, and the prospects of actually getting a return on my investment has declined, so has my relationship. My change in emotional state has further dragged down our relationship to the point where I’m now having to decide between my family and keeping this going.”

 

“Lots of sleepless nights and 80 hr work weeks. Along with weekly trips across the state.”

 

“This is an incredibly stressful time for us. Trying to make payroll when there is no reliable source of income is not any way to run a business. Costs for inputs in cannabis are ridiculously high. The costs of cannabis banking, cannabis insurance, cannabis testing, cannabis seed, among others, make for very tight margins at the best of times. And these are the worst of times. We are all having trouble sleeping and our focus is shot.”

 

“Many nights of lost sleep, and days of depression over income lost, even though I’ve done everything the state has asked to stay compliant, and to grow good cannabis. The OCM and CCB are deaf to all of our requests for discussion, and warnings of how their decisions are literally killing us.”

 

“As I said before we have no money for anything, my husband and I work for free, haven’t paid taxes on the farm, we use public services like food pantries and free clothing closets. I have to work 3 other jobs to try and make ends meet while doing everything on the farm as well. We can’t afford office help or compliance so I am tasked with farm Wirth, office work, basically never ending. We both have been angry, upset, depressed and it’s hard to just keep going with no relief.”

 

“I have 0 faith in NY or OCM to manage this program.”

 

“My health is failing. Not being able to have the income to hire employees- I’ve had to do the hard labor myself. With a disc herniation, numbness into extremities and worsening autoimmune issues from the stress – I’m unable to physically do this anymore. Mentally, not good. I’m being treated for depression, insomnia, and anxiety by my doctor. Even have had to see a mental health therapist on a weekly basis and paying it all out of pocket so that I can show up as best as I can for my two children. I’m certain all of this stress contributed to losing my baby this year. Thanks New York.”

 

“It has been disastrous. We are a family farm and tensions have never been higher. We are all emotionally at the end of our rope.”

 

“We have been tremendously affected in ways that we don’t even know, the stress and anxiety has taken a huge toll on all of our families mentally and physically!”

 

“When I figured out we weren’t going to be selling our crop I went into a deep depression one where it’s difficult to get off the couch…but I had to get off the couch and get another job because the millions I made in 2022 was lost in 2023 when there was no place for me to sell it.”

 

“Extremely stressful having to adjust our daily schedules to accommodate constant changes in regulations and market dynamics.”

 

“It’s hard to explain without feeling less of a man that I consider myself to be. I no longer have time or money for the gym, I’ve lost very close friends and family, and my ability to trust anything.”

 

“Horrific and negative impact. We are trying to swim with cement blocks – and not sink.”

 

“It’s been stressful.”

 

“A lot of stress on relationships.”

 

“The slow rollout wasted 16 months of my life. That time is worth over a million dollars to me.”

 

“We are actually in a worse position financially than the Hemp debacle due to the expectation and regulations from OCM.”

 

“First, based upon finances it has affected family and business partnership greatly! It has impacted the direction our CBD business has taken. Because there is so much information to research, learn and implement based upon many areas, regulations, technology, cultivating methods, weather, environmental etc., there seems to be not enough time in the day to perform many other duties which also need to be performed. Obviously this greatly disturbs sleep and relationships. I myself am physically disabled and there are many physical tasks I cannot readily perform so that in turn places a heavier physical load on my business partner. Which has a mental effect on myself and those around me creating a deterioration in the business relationship! If in fact we were somehow able to sell our product this would at least be somewhat a reward for our physical and mental investment in this industry!”

 

“The rollout has a significant impact on my mental and physical health as well as the dynamics of my family and home.”

 

“Constant stress and thinking of getting out of the cannabis business.”

 

“Our mental and physical health has been affected greatly. We are 31 and 59 years old and both have recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure as well as anxiety due to the stress of this industry and the constant hurdles created with ever changing rules and expectations. Our family dynamic has also been affected due to unwanted stress from financial strain and the inability to sell our product. We are in constant fights and the tension in the household is high. Our social life is non-existent due to working around the clock, having the inability to leave the farm due to lack of employees, and the requirement to be at the farm in case an inspector arrives.”

 

“The constant financial stress that is compounded daily is a mentally draining feeling. I have exhausted my body to the point of not being able to recover physically. I feel like my family life has been ruined because of my choices to get involved in this industry. Trying to balance the farm and an 8-year-old son is extremely difficult, something is always being neglected. The arguments about our financial future seem to be a norm now. I feel our only hope is to sell our license and farm, so our future financial situation doesn’t get worse.”

 

“Our mental and physical health have been affected greatly. Now having gone through a second year of growing and still not entirely sure how or where the crop is going to be sold is extremely stressful on a daily basis. It was a difficult family decision, which was debated at length, to determine whether or not it was even worth it to grow for the 2023 season. Now we are at that point, once again, where we must make the decision for which license to transition into all without ever having seen any income or profit. Because of this fact, we are back in the same position that we were a year ago, with many more difficult decisions that need to be made in a timely manner. Tension and stress have been extremely high. There have been numerous mental breakdowns throughout the season. Our farm manager, who is the son and the third member of our ownership structure who runs our entire operation, from growing to selling to record keeping and everything in between, has had to sign up for weekly therapy in order to manage his stress.”

 

“I have constant anxiety and have had to see a doctor for prescription medication. I have developed raging insomnia, and when I do sleep I grind my teeth so hard I have literally moved several teeth in my mouth. My dentist said I need surgery but it’s over $8000 so that is not going to happen. As my stress and anxiety have spiraled, my family and friends are tired of me having no other topic of conversation than cannabis. I have no energy to do anything enjoyable and have no work/life balance. I work so many hours I eat junk food to save time cooking and have gained a lot of weight, which continues to negatively impact my physical and mental health. It is a constant cycle.”

 

“Livestock farming and Emergency Nursing have exposed me to a lot of pain and death. I’m not one to make emotional pleas.”

 

“Created stress and ended up in the hospital.”

 

“My husband has lost faith after emptying out his retirement to support the business. He has sought a divorce partially due to financial strain.”

 

Question 9 – Please Feel Free To Add Anything Else You Would Like To Add For The Cfa To Present As A Stakeholder On Monday?

“No.”

 

“We the cultivators are hurting, there’s no need. We are prepared but the wrong people are in charge and they care more about social equity than building a program that will succeed. This program is being designed for RO’s to swoop in and take native New Yorker’s jobs. OCM is slowly killing the cultivators, our confidence is at zero with them, we’re distressed far already from an oversaturated hemp market, a lot of us have been hurting and I for one have tried to do everything I can to play by the rules and do everything legit. But I feel like a fool. The black market is thriving and the law-abiding cultivators who have been given a golden opportunity are being smoked out and it’s not our fault. Help us, we are dying.”

 

“I think we need to focus on that OCM and CCB have screwed up and we need both money and more flexible rules to correct the issues.”

 

“AUCC transfer fees waived for three years.”

 

“It looks to me like there is corruption going on & there are those who are manipulating this industry for their own benefit.”

 

“I want our leaders to give us tangible proof that they care about their constituents and I want the leadership of the OCM to be held accountable for the damage they’ve done by shifting goalposts constantly and failing to deliver on their promises.”

 

“Every effort must be made to ensure that the folks who helped make the legal cannabis industry in New York a reality, not become casualties of the poor choices and judgment of New York State government cannabis legalization program.”

 

“New York State, in particular this administration, has proven itself to be anti-farmer and anti-entrepreneur. Time after time the billion dollar operations (ROs/MSOs) have succeeded in changing the regulations to benefit them, and crush the native New York, small family farmer. Where are the investigations into the legislators that are clearly benefiting from these out of state operators? And let’s be clear-eyed about this, the profits are also going out of state, not to the people who made this market possible for the past two years — the New York AUCCs.”

 

“The OCM is not looking out for the farmers they enrolled into this program. As with other industries like tobacco, the state sets a price and there needs to be some help to the farmers who are doing all the work to try and build this industry literally from the ground up. Allowing now the ROs to come in will destabilize things further. OCM needs to be held accountable for these poor decisions and the state government needs to protect the farmers and subsidize us for the year of loss so far due to OCM’s negligence.”

 

“N/a”

 

“Sick ‘em Joseph Calderone.”

 

“CCB- Please do better”

 

“AUCC’s should not have to pay license fees and testing should be subsidized by NYS. AUCC’s should be awarded the same type of financial help that the state has set aside to help CAURD’s.”

 

“All I feel I’m owed is my investment back. I’ll get over the millions I lost but I shouldn’t lose my investment. I worked 12 hr days for months with no pay to hold up my end of the deal with the OCM but they didn’t hold up their end of the deal.”

 

“I Love all of you guys and I truly hope to see everything work out for everyone, and All of our lost dreams return home, that the tears are all sucked back into the ducts, and that brains heal from the constant barrage of the struggle and traumatic experiences. Fight my friends, NEVER GIVE UP.”

 

“Stop limits on cultivation SF if you have space & ability. Allow Codification Allow vertical integration at the farm without limits Distressed farmer emergency funding or no family farms will survive the winter.”

 

“Repeal the potency tax it’s a burden and causes dispensaries to double charge consumers.”

 

“We need a true small farm advisor on the board. The THC tax needs reworking; it’s burdensome and unfair to customers, they are not informed that they are paying this tax and are being taxed twice on it at point of sale.”

 

“I voluntarily surrendered close to $12,000,000 to the federal, state, and local governments for a cannabis offense I plead guilty to, and now that I’m out of prison… I followed their rules perfectly but was let down because they did not execute the cannabis retail store rollout properly.”

 

“This program is not geared for the 1-2 person operations and needs to offer assistance to the smallest, not the largest.”

 

“We are GREATLY disappointed in how this supposed ‘rollout’ has been delivered! There are many disturbing and frustrating issues. I will point out a few; 1). One thing that is most disturbing is the fact that we all as cultivators have invested much and have ‘skin in the game’ and have tirelessly jumped through the MANY hoops and obstacles to participate and build this industry in NY state. We were required to be assigned a ‘mentee’ and while optional… participate in the SUNY Morrisville educational zoom meetings. I remember one of the first online meetings Brian Farmer stated ‘NYS wants sustainable SUNGROWN cannabis!’ This now seems not the case as evident by allowing the big corporations to come waltzing in and taking over while at the same time GASLIGHTING and sweeping the small cultivators ‘under the rug!’ At the same time we are also watching the OCM employees (many receiving a great income/benefits etc,) while presenting at any public meetings always ‘high fiving’ and ‘smacking each other on the ass’ in how great the rollout is and how great they are doing! From down here in the trenches we are not seeing and realizing the same perception and/or rewards! 2). We as cultivators cannot speak to an actual PERSON at OCM unless of course you have a connection. Also while the only way we can communicate is via email, every time there is a communication it is signed with ‘Compliance Team’ there ins no name, title, employee number and this is very wrong… at the very least SIGN the damn communication! These are just a few of the very frustrating issues I/we have encountered since joining this endeavor. To sum it up…as a small farmer in NYS! The group of people that are in charge of the cannabis ‘rollout’ have FAILED MISERABLY and in no way support the Small Farmer and seemingly their only goal is to support the BIG CORPORATE entities and collect as much money possible i.e. THC tax! 3). We are very hesitant on going any further with this endeavor at this time and are deliberating if we want to throw any more good money after bad!”

 

“Please look after the farmers.”

 

“Another example of government control and way too much involved, regulating it to a point where the cultivators has his hands tied. They are dealing with Big Money Lobbyists and companies to weed out small farmers.”

 

“Other states legalized marijuana sales after New York State and have brought in significantly more revenue to the state than New York. When New York legalized marijuana, we were told New York farms can only sell to New York dispensaries. However, corporations from other states come in and are occupying limited shelf space and are overpowering the local farms. Example: Maryland opened in 2022 and has 101 stores. New York has 25 stores. The state has not shut down the illegal sticker stores. We personally issued complaints to the OCM about two sticker stores in our town and have received no response. These illegal stores in our town are stopping the traffic to dispensaries in Binghamton. Our retail pricing has also gone down 30% due to the illegal sales. The farmers markets were not an adequate solution to the problem as we are forced to sell product lower than our quality standards under our brand name and pay the dispensaries a percentage of our sales for the day.”

 

“I don’t have anything specific that I would like to add.”

 

“We are now at the point of needing to transition into a full license and we still have not had any inspection this season from the OCM. We feel that the OCM has put us in an unfair position as we did not get any personal guidance on our specific operating procedures. How are we supposed to make adequate business decisions when it is so difficult to have any proper discourse with the OCM?”

 

“Thanks for representing!”

 

“Please open up more dispensaries and convert our licenses ASAP.”

 

“Wish they did this differently.”

 

“A written commitment from the Governor that our licenses will retain value by ensuring NYS will be a limited license state. Outside of that, we will continue to suffer instability, and potential saturation and market collapse as new licenses are ushered in.”

 

—END OF TRANSCRIPT—