As legal marijuana sales inch closer, NY’s weed pioneers question if they can ever go legit

On a recent afternoon in Central New York, a legacy cannabis grower caressed the five marijuana plants growing in his backyard, and examined the leaves to assess their health.

Erie – who asked NY Cannabis Insider not to publish his real name – started growing weed when he was about 16 years old. Now 46 with a family, he grows and sells about 12 pounds per year, he said, and works a nine-to-five job – which is where he said most of his money comes from.

“I think a lot of us who’ve been growing for 10, 20, 30 years – it’s ingrained in us, it’s a passion,” Erie said. “We want to be able to do it legally; but if we have to, we will continue to do it [illegally].”

One of the major challenges facing NY’s Office of Cannabis Management is figuring out how to bring legacy operators like Erie into the forthcoming legal weed industry. OCM started issuing cannabis cultivator licenses in April, and has so far approved 203 conditional grow licenses to hemp farmers.

But four legacy growers interviewed by NY Cannabis Insider said they’re nervous their turn may never come, and fear state officials may renege on public statements of support for legacy operators joining the legal market.

Each said they hold no animosity toward conditionally licensed growers, and don’t want to make enemies of the OCM – but they feel regulators are ignoring legacy’s concerns. [Read More @ Syracuse.com]