Last year in Sullivan County and around the state, millions of dollars of potential revenue from marijuana was lost due to the inability to legally sell the crop as a result of a lack of dispensaries. However, with state regulators expected to issue more licenses next month, this deficit is looking to be coming to an end.

Originally, only formerly incarcerated individuals with non-violent marijuana charges were allowed to obtain a license as a way of compensating. 

This decision to expand the criteria for who can apply for dispensary license is a step in the right direction. Starting October 4, all marijuana businesses are allowed to apply for cultivator, processor, distributor microbusiness and retail dispensary licenses.The market is booming and the demand for the product remains at an all-time high. According to the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), the 23 licensed dispensaries reported $70+ Million in cannabis sales through late August. 

Breaking that $70 million down, roughly $18.8 of that was accrued between January through May. In June, the sales jumped to $8.9 million. The real sign of growth however comes from the sales reported between July and August, which saw roughly $34 million in sales revenue. 

That means more marijuana was purchased in the past two months combined than in the first half of the year by itself. People want their legal weed and they want it now. 

However, as it currently stands, this change most likely will not affect most of the towns and villages of the county, as a number of the municipalities voted in opposition to allowing dispensaries and on-site consumption areas within their towns just last year.

New York State spent a majority of the recent weed boom lagging behind our neighboring states, so expanding the opportunity to establish the Empire State as a contender for marijuana revenue creation certainly can lift us to new heights.

Even if the county does not immediatly benefit from these sales, all boats rise with the tide here in NY.