An Open Letter to the NYS Office of Cannabis Management
Share
Dear OCM Leadership and Committee Members,
I am a 35-year-old nonbinary Jewish New Yorker. The child of immigrants born and raised in Queens, with a lifelong commitment to cannabis advocacy. I was arrested for a dime bag at 16 around the corner from my parents' home. Today, I'm an aspiring ganjapreneur working toward opening a consumption arcade, doing my best to learn compliance, safety, compassionate care, cannabis hospitality and best practices through FasTrac and various certifications.
I write to you with deep concern about the direction of cannabis policy in our state.
Success Cannot Be Measured in Shutdowns, Violations and Seized Products
If the number of violations issued and businesses shut down is your current metric for success, that metric needs to change. The data is staggering: over 450 businesses padlocked statewide not including 1,400 in NYC alone, with 297 shutdowns in Queens—my home borough. This isn't progress; it's the perpetuation of prohibition by other means.
Help Businesses Get Regulated, Don't Punish Them
Every policy decision should start with one question: How can we help unregulated businesses become regulated? Not how can we punish them. Not how can we shut them down. The goal of legalization was to bring people into the light, not push them further into darkness.
BioTrack: A Bridge, Not a Barrier
Currently, BioTrack serves as your main compliance avenue—but unregulated businesses have zero access to it. They're caught in an impossible catch-22: they can't comply without BioTrack access, but they can't get BioTrack access without a license.
Why not allow unregulated plant-touching businesses to begin using BioTrack immediately? Let them take steps toward compliance while applications are pending. They could even post signs: "We are unlicensed but actively working toward compliance." This transparency empowers consumers while encouraging businesses to come forward.
Air Quality Solutions Already Exist
There are numerous affordable standing air filters that, when properly deployed for appropriate square footage, can maintain excellent air quality in even the busiest consumption lounges. Levoit air purifiers, for example, offer HEPA filtration at a fraction of the cost of complex HVAC installations. These practical solutions work well and solve real problems—yet they're not being considered in current regulations. Why complicate what could be simple?
And let's be clear: people should have the option to opt out of smoking areas if they prefer. Choice and consent matter.
End Unjust Discrimination Against Cannabis
The zoning disparities are unconscionable:
- Alcohol businesses: 200 feet from schools
- Cannabis businesses: 500 feet from schools
This 2.5x restriction makes it exponentially harder to site cannabis businesses. Even worse, while bars face the "500 foot rule" only when there are already 3 or more liquor licenses within 500 feet, cannabis businesses face 1,000-foot buffers from each other regardless. Where is the logic? Where is the fairness?
Respect Religious Freedom
Cannabis serves as a spiritual tool for many—Native American and Indigenous practices, revived ancient Jewish rituals, Rastafarian ceremonies, and countless others. How can we support religious institutions that incorporate cannabis into spiritual practice while imposing blanket restrictions near houses of worship? This is spiritual suppression, plain and simple.
Normalize, Don't Criminalize
We decided as a state to legalize cannabis. Therefore, no cannabis business is illegal—only unregulated. Language matters. Mindset matters. Are we truly committed to normalization, or are we simply replacing incarceration with financial devastation?
From Decriminalization to Re-criminalization
I marched for legalization as a teenager. I voted for regulations in states I have lived in including New York and California. I've seen and experienced the cannabis climate in many states and countries. I've talked with the people living and working it. I've seen the good and the bad.
We've come so far in decriminalization—but over-regulation threatens to become de facto criminalization by other means. Instead of paying with incarceration, people now pay with their businesses and livelihoods. This is not the legalization we fought for.
Small Businesses Can't Wait
Small business owners don't have the luxury of waiting for the wheel of bureaucracy to catch up while their families need to eat. If they're doing their best to comply and have good intentions, there should be a safe path forward. That's true legalization. That's true decriminalization.
Think Beyond New York
Current federal restrictions make interstate commerce difficult, but one day—whether before or after federal legalization—we'll have opportunities to expand and do business with like-minded states. An isolationist "keep everything in NY" mindset limits our potential. More channels equal more business.
I truly hope you'll do right by New Yorkers as you move forward with policy decisions. I know you're capable of making NYS a great environment for cannabis businesses.
Help people get regulated. Don't oppress them for violating rules that just emerged. Give them a safe path forward.
The shutdowns must stop. The helping must begin.
Respectfully,
Joseph Leybovich , Budcade, Queens, NY
P.S. - To my fellow New Yorkers in the cannabis community: Share this message if it resonates. Our voices matter.