New York cannabis farmers are growing pot much faster than the smattering of legal stores can sell it.
To ease the glut, state officials are allowing pot growers to team up with sellers for a type of cannabis farmers market that would offer their wares directly to consumers.
But setting up a showcase comes with some formidable hurdles that could limit their popularity among organizers.
It is all part of a stopgap measure from the Office of Cannabis Management designed to help growers offload a pot crop that has been mostly in storage since the fall harvest because not enough stores have opened in the state to give farmers a place to sell it.
Farmers have had to plant new seeds for the coming harvest, even while sitting on millions of dollars of unsold product as they have waited for retail avenues to open.
And by calling it the Cannabis Growers Showcase, state officials are hoping to avoid confusion with conventional farmers markets.
The format allows three or more growers to partner with a retailer for pop-up retail sales at events and locations, with no cap on the number of growers who can participate.
“One of the most important things is that the brand is in front of the consumer explaining why their product is different,” said Kaelen Castetter, managing director at Castetter Cannabis Group, at an educational seminar hosted by cannabis technology group Dutchie last week. “If not, the only thing that consumer has to go on is the price and THC percent.”
Here are 10 things to expect from the Cannabis Growers Showcase.
Growers are urged to select a location and apply to the municipality even before they submit their Cannabis Growers Showcase application to the state, since the request may have to move through several layers of approval, especially since the events are new.
“You might have to go through planning, they might have to get approval from certain boards. Potentially, they have to get a resolution from the Legislature. We’ve heard that before,” Castetter said.
Growers may have a hard time finding a retailer to join their cause. In order to hold a showcase, growers must team up with a licensed retailer. But that may not be easy.
“The feedback has been, a lot of the (conditional adult-use retail dispensary) licensees who are currently eligible to be the professional organizer, they’re busy running their stores, so they’re not going to participate,” said Anne Forkutza, head of social impact and industry relations at Dutchie.
And provisional licensees, while they can help organize the event, can’t take on the official partnership role required by the state.
Farmers are running out of time. Municipal delays can worsen one of the most crucial factors farmers are facing right now – the essence of time. Cannabis Growers Showcases are only permitted until Jan. 1. Even then, it pushes the envelope on the quality of cannabis flower available, which was harvested nearly a year ago.
There is also a consuming timeline for state applications. For events planned before Sept. 5, applications must be submitted 10 business days in advance. Applications for events occurring after Sept. 5 must be submitted at least 20 business days in advance. The application to hold a showcase closes Dec. 1.
Showcases can be held in state-licensed cannabis stores. In a turnaround from the state’s original plans, Cannabis Growers Showcase events will be permitted in retail locations.
That means licensed cannabis retailers can host Cannabis Growers Showcase events right in their own stores. They can also be held at standalone venues operated by showcase organizers, by participating licensees or at licensed conditional cultivator or processor locations.
They cannot, however, be held at temporary delivery locations.
No samples, no freebies. Sellers are allowed to have samples available for inspection, but not ingestion. They are also not allowed to give away anything free – not even a free T-shirt or bumper sticker. But they can sell those things and other branded merchandise at showcases.
No potmobiles. Despite the popularity of food truck rodeos, cannabis trucks are not allowed. Sales from a vehicle are prohibited, according to Catstetter.
Showcases can piggyback on other events, but only if they are age appropriate. You may see pop-up cannabis sales at your next concert, but only if 90% of the audience can be “reasonably expected” to be 18 years of age or older, according to state guidance.
That means cannabis sales might be prohibited at a traditional farmers market, but they would be OK’d at an age-gated, 18 and older concert. Customers must be 21 or older and show identification to purchase cannabis.
Strict marketing rules still apply. Don’t expect to see a person as a giant green leaf mascot, or advertisements saying you will get higher than a kite. The state’s Packaging, Labeling, Marketing and Advertising laws for dispensary licensees still apply to any advertising of a Cannabis Growers Showcase and anything that happens at the events.
“You can’t be like ‘Oh, come to this event and get smacked,” Castetter said.
No alcohol, sort of. Cannabis growers and retailers cannot sell alcohol within their showcase. But that doesn’t mean they can’t do pop-up sales anywhere alcohol is being sold.
“This is another kind of exception to the way that the current regulations apply to the regular market,” said Hruby. “As long as there’s some degree of separation, and technically they’re separate booths, you could literally have a wine vendor right next door to the cannabis.”
No smoking on site. Consuming cannabis at a showcase is prohibited. It is not a consumption lounge, it’s basically a pop-up store, one where ingesting samples or even purchased product is not allowed.
H/T: BuffaloNews.com
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