A North Country entrepreneur says New York’s cannabis rollout left his dream microbusiness stuck in cold storage for three years after state regulators failed to deliver on a promised fast track. Jason Stowell, who joined a state mentorship program and leased a storefront in the town of Orleans in Jefferson County, says his application still has not been touched. Fed up, Stowell has joined other program participants in a lawsuit against the Office of Cannabis Management.
Stowell took part in the Cannabis Compliance Training and Mentorship Program (CTTM), a 2023 pilot that paired would-be operators with experienced growers and business mentors. “These groups, these individuals will be prioritized for certain licenses in the current window and in future applications,” former OCM Chief Equity Officer Damian Fagon said at a meeting, language Stowell says convinced him to invest in a brick-and-mortar location. That priority, he told reporters, never showed up in practice, according to Spectrum News.
State Licensing, Queues And What ‘Priority’ Meant
New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act created the Office of Cannabis Management to run licensing for adult-use, medical, and hemp operators. The agency publishes application queues that determine the order in which files are pulled for review. But the agency’s own guidance stresses that landing on a queue is not a ticket to a license, and that timelines can stretch depending on how complex an application is and how quickly an applicant answers regulators’ questions. According to the Office of Cannabis Management, an earlier slot in the queue only gets an applicant looked at first, not automatically approved.
Backlog, Lawsuits And Leadership Churn
Industry watchers say long waits at OCM are not a mystery. Lawsuits and leadership turnover have repeatedly gummed up the works. An internal review and reporting by The Associated Press outlined shifting policies and staffing shortages inside the agency. Local trade coverage has also tracked a steady stream of lawsuits aimed at OCM that have snarled application reviews. Those court fights, along with procedural reversals such as clarifications to proximity rules, have at times paused or reshuffled who is allowed to move forward next, according to outlets like the Rockland County Business Journal.
What Stowell’s Suit Alleges
Stowell says he secured a lease and local approvals because he believed the mentor program came with a meaningful place in line. Instead, he says, his Orleans storefront now sits empty while his application remains parked in the queue. He confirmed to reporters that he is a plaintiff in litigation challenging the Office of Cannabis Management but declined to get into the details. His mentor, Trever Sherman of Ithaca Organics, says he hopes the courts will force the agency to stand by what program participants were told. Several CTTM members are among the plaintiffs seeking relief, Spectrum News reports.
Legal Implications
If the plaintiffs win, a court could order OCM to spell out how priority was actually awarded, tweak the queue system, or approve settlements that change who gets to move faster through the line, with ripple effects for New York’s equity-focused launch. Earlier court battles have already produced temporary freezes, settlements, and orders that reshaped licensing windows and who could apply when, as documented by the Times Union. Any new ruling or deal could speed things up for some operators while slowing or sidelining others.
What’s Next
The Office of Cannabis Management typically declines to comment on active lawsuits, local coverage has noted, and regulators regularly point to the size of the application backlog and ongoing litigation as reasons for delays. In late February, Gov. Kathy Hochul tapped John Kagia as acting executive director in what industry outlets described as a bid to stabilize the agency and jump-start licensing, according to Cannabis Business Times. For now, Stowell says he plans to keep paying rent on the idle storefront and pressing his case in court until he gets the review he believes he was promised.
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