ALBANY, N.Y. (WRGB) — The State Office of Cannabis Management is feeling the heat this week –from the governor calling for an overhaul of the state agency to a top officer placed on administrative leave following retaliation allegations.
Earlier this week, Governor Kathy Hochul ordered a top-down review of the state’s adult-use cannabis program to smoke out the reasons behind the industry’s troubled roll out. The audit comes amid ongoing delays in opening dispensaries and rampant unlicensed sales.
Commissioner Jeanette Moy of the state Office of General Services is spearheading the review, saying the goal is to “identify improvement opportunities and begin implementing a strategic plan for the long-term success of the legal cannabis rollout.”
But just days before, OCM’s Chief Equity Officer Damian Fagon was placed on administrative leave after allegations of retaliation. An OGS spokesperson said his departure had nothing to do with the governor ordering a review of the state’s embattled cannabis program .
Fagon was placed on leave after cannabis processor Jenny Argie, owner of Jenny’s Baked at Home, filed a complaint in a lawsuit alleging Fagon targeted her for sharing what she felt was wrong with the roll out.
“Fagon told me he would not speak with me again, so I was in a position where I felt OCM had shut me out,” said Argie. “I then continued to write opeds and discuss how I felt the program was rolling out inconsistent with what they had promised us three years ago.”
“I then spoke with the New York Senate and testified about the findings that I had discovered that they was illegal products coming in from out of state and being sold in our legal market and that this was just one of myriad of problems that was starting to pop up,” she continued.
“A week or two week later, I became the target of a state’s first recall,” she said
Then earlier this month, she said OCM issued a stop work order against her business.
This prompted her to sue the agency.
“I am one of thousands in this state that has been silenced by certain people in the OCM for speaking out,” said Argie.
“This lawsuit is an attempt to ask for change. Ask for our voices to be heard,” she added.
Argie said she commends the Governor for ordering this review. She feels it’s long overdue and hopes they take into account the concerns she and many others in the industry have.
In a statement OCM’s Executive Director Chris Alexander said, “As a regulatory body, we take questions about the integrity of our systems seriously. To ensure a transparent, thorough investigation into the allegations made, the Office placed Mr. Fagon on leave.”
H/T: cbs6albany.com
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