Regulation and Bureaucracy…two words nobody likes to hear.

I used to believe in the importance of Government oversight, and I still want to, although with the blatant corruption happening these days, it is really hard to believe anything. I have never liked bureaucracy and red tape. It makes no sense to me, and it frustrates the hell out of me. Hence, why I could never work for somebody.

In the world of cannabis, we have heavy regulation, and the bureaucracy seems to have taken a page out of the book on how to build red tape in a Government office. It is unfortunate, as the opportunity was certainly there, since there was no Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) five years ago.

I applaud what has been accomplished, but I’m frustrated by the way the industry has been legalized through a new government arm. In many states, we are starting to see regulatory overhaul, but some of the fundamental decisions made from the start will be very difficult to change. Cannabis is an economic driver, and NYS did not get the proper oversight from the Governor’s office. The legal base was built by groups of people trying to take their piece of the pie without thinking about how businesses are built, aka, hire more people and bring in more taxes.

Five years from now, a lot will have changed in this industry. Being early may have been the right call, but the cost of being early will continue to rise until the system works better. Liquor works with ease in NYS. How come they couldn’t just follow those rules?