New York’s legal pot shops more than doubled in 2025 — as sales surpassed $2.5B

More New Yorkers got high on legal pot last year — despite some despite dopey bungling by the state’s cannabis regulators.

New York’s legal cannabis market surpassed $2.5 billion in sales — including more than $1.5 billion in business for 2025 alone — following an initial rocky rollout three years ago, the Office of Cannabis Management said in its annual report.

The number of licensed weed shops statewide also more than doubled — to 556 from 261 in 2024 — including more than 200 dispensaries located in New York City.

By comparison, there were just 34 dispensaries in the Empire State in 2023.

Sales of legal weed have generated more than $360 million in tax revenue combined for the state and localities, the report said.

“Surpassing $2.5 billion in adult-use sales is a major milestone,” said Susan Filburn, acting executive director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management.

“This Annual Report reflects the market New Yorkers have built together over the past year. We expanded access to regulated, tested cannabis products, strengthened consumer protections, and continued to advance an equity-centered market framework,” said Filburn.

But the progress could have been better if not for stumbles by OCM, critics said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul asked for the resignation of OCM executive director Felicia Reid last month after the agency bungled an enforcement case against a licensed pot distributor amid struggles to enforce a crackdown against illicit products being smuggled into the state’s legal market.

“Too often, the Office of Cannabis Management has stood in the way of the market realizing its potential, including most recently in the case of a pending compliance action that it has had to withdraw,” Hochul said.

Reid is the second CEO replaced in less than two years. Her predecessor, Chris Alexander, resigned in May 2024 following a scathing audit by Hochul’s office after the governor branded the launch of adult-use marijuana sales a “disaster.”

Earlier last year, OCM officials admitted that they’d mistakenly calculated the distance rules for separating weed shops under the law, a goof that has to be corrected by the legislature.

Too much illegal activity continues to hurt licensed merchants, said Osbert Orduna, a disabled vet and the CEO of The Cannabis Place in Middle Village, Queens.

“In 2025 the illicit market has continued to grow and expand into other areas as shown when the NYC Sheriff raided an illicit warehouse in Jersey City,” Orduna said.

“Online based illicit operators continue to operate throughout the state, much more needs to be done to combat the public safety threat that the illicit market poses to communities throughout the state.”

Orduna, who also advocates for disabled veterans who get preferences for cannabis licenses under state law, said too few have gotten approval to enter the legal weed market. Some vets had even sued the state for allegedly snubbing them.

“This is not how to thank those that have served our nation, sacrificing their bodies and minds for our state and nation,” he said.

He remained hopeful that more vets will be approved as cannabis merchants next year, noting that the new OCM acting director, Filburn, is an Army veteran herself.

Still, cannabis industry reps said the growth in the legal market over the past year is undeniable.

“The annual report shows meaningful progress in New York’s legal cannabis market, but it also makes clear that New York State needs a strong auditing process to prevent inversion and protect consumers,” said Joe Rossi, strategist for Empire State Green Standard Alliance, a cannabis consumer advocacy organization focused on marijuana consumer health and safety.

“As the market grows, rigorous oversight of the supply chain, product movement, and financial controls is essential to ensure only tested legal cannabis reaches New Yorkers and to maintain public trust,” he said.