BUFFALO, N.Y. — We have a follow-up on the state’s cannabis program with some updated figures on marijuana retailers here in Erie County.  

There has been some confusion for county officials on the actual distribution of tax revenue in an agency which had to be re-vamped just last year.

At  the Finance and Management Committee meeting of the Erie County Legislature on Thursday, County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick was pretty forthcoming about confusion in communications with the State Office of Cannabis Management on the process to distribute tax revenue collected with the sale of marijuana by licensed dispensaries in host communities.

He even mentioned a recent tele-conference meeting on the subject with the state comptroller’s office.

Hardwick told the lawmakers “they won’t tell us how to distribute it. How much goes to Tonawanda, how much to West Seneca? So on and so forth. And we’ll have to send them another email, and then they’ll get back to us, and they won’t give us the exactly what we need. It’s been very frustrating.”

He added: “This was the No. 1 complaint. What is it with that agency?”

Actually a year ago, Gov. Kathy Hochul recognized serious shortcomings with “that agency” and reorganized OCM and its leadership to try to streamline the slow pace of licensing which was also held up by lawsuits over procedures.

As she said in May 2024, “There are deep seated issues at OCM. Issues that have limited its ability to fulfill its licensing role.”

So now a year later we do have updated numbers from OCM on Erie County dispensaries. There are 32 retail sites up and running along with 15 more pending. There are also four more CAURD applications — a set-aside for those with prior pot convictions — and then three additional micro-businesses for actual combined growing, cultivation, distribution, and retail operations.

Now on tax revenue distribution we went to West Seneca with two dispensaries, and where Supervisor Gary Dickson last year sought guidance from Erie County officials on the revenue. That is even though he didn’t count on it a major town budget revenue.

Dickson said he was asking last year, “How is this going to work. Like, are you guys, you know, can we trust you guys? How are we going to know we’re getting what we’re supposed to get?” 

Dickson says so far the town has received at least $40,000 and maybe more coming in. He noted “It’s more of a system, so hopefully it will be a regular quarterly distribution once the state tells the county and gives the county the money, so there’s a delay. It’s definitely a delay of a month or two.”

Dickson also agrees that “it’s not the cash cow that anybody thought it was going to be.”

Dickson says since the two dispensaries started operations there have been no issues. He says the town may also soon lift their unique town requirement for an armed guard to be present at one of the dispensaries. 

OCM added in its response to 2 On Your Side that another CAURD dispensary was just granted a license last month but has not opened for business as yet. 

OCM says scheduling can cause tax payment by businesses to be behind the time period of actual sales much like sales tax distribution and the State Department of Tax and Finance has more of those details. 

Earlier this week the State Office of Cannabis Management reported that over the first two years of the program there were over $1 billion in licensed marijuana sales in New York State.