(The Center Square) — New York’s top cannabis official has resigned at Gov. Kathy Hochul’s request after the withdrawal of a major state enforcement case against a Long Island-based pot company.
Hochul announced late Monday that she asked Felicia A.B. Reid to resign from her post as acting executive director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, effective immediately.
The leadership shake-up comes after the agency dropped a regulatory case against the Long Island-based firm, Omnium Health, less than a day before an administrative trial was set to get underway.
“New York’s cannabis market holds enormous potential. It creates jobs, generates revenue and builds prosperity in communities that were left out of the economic mainstream for decades,” Hochul said in a statement. “Realizing that potential requires strong leadership, a deep understanding of the regulatory framework, and a steadfast commitment to the people of this state.”
“Too often, the Office of Cannabis Management has stood in the way of the market realizing its potential, including most recently in the case of a pending compliance action that it has had to withdraw,” she added.
Reid, 40, was appointed by Hochul to the top regulatory post a year ago in the wake of an embarrassing rollout of the state’s recreational cannabis law. She will be replaced by Susan Filburn, the agency’s chief administrative officer, who will take over as executive director on an interim basis, the Hochul administration said.
“My administration remains committed to fostering the cannabis market for consumers, business owners and impacted communities across New York State,” Hochul said.
Pot regulators had accused Omnium of violating the state’s cannabis regulations by allowing out-of-state companies to make their own products under its state license. The state agency was seeking to revoke the company’s license and force its owners to pay millions of dollars and fines. But the agency withdrew the charges Monday, without explaining the rationale for dropping the case.
Several published news reports said James Rogers, a former prosecutor who headed the investigation into Omnium, was also fired by the Hochul administration after the case was dropped.
New York legalized recreational cannabis in 2021 under legislation signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, allowing cultivation and retail sales and setting up a system of taxation and regulation for the new industry. To date, about 436 retail pot shops have opened, state regulators say.
The rollout was slowed by legal challenges, including a ruling by a New York judge that halted new licenses under a program that favors people with previous drug conviction charges. Other lawsuits have focused on the allowable distances between each pot shop, which is strictly regulated by the state.
Amid the delays in licensing legal pot shops, illegal storefront operations have proliferated in New York City and cities, prompting state and local authorities to crack down on unlicensed sales.
