Cannabis dispensaries in New York say they've been struggling with a "supply crunch," as the state's nascent legal marijuana industry works through early growing pains.

A survey of hundreds of dispensary owners and cultivators with the Cannabis Association of New York (CANY) found that over the last three months, 78% of dispensary owners say their suppliers have been limiting the amount of product being shipped, while 53% of cultivators have been unable to meet order requests. CANY blames this on changes in growing practices, with 26% of cultivators saying they planted less in 2024 than they did in the previous year, along with 13% who didn't plant at all.

Even so, CANY members also reported high demand for their products, with 48% seeing increased sales over the last three months. Another 39% had sales that were unchanged, while just 13% saw a decline.

“It’s clear the New York cannabis market continues to trend in the right direction and hope is on the horizon. However, we’re also seeing concerns about supply, which if they continue, could slow the progress we’ve seen,” CANY president Damien Cornwell said. "These issues underscore the need for the state to undertake a data-driven process that delivers licenses to the market in a way that provides for sustainable growth and a thriving market."

New York is one of the more recent states to legalize recreational marijuana, after getting approval from its legislature in 2021. It wasn't until December of the following year, though, until the state's first legal dispensary opened for business. More than 150 other new dispensaries have since sprung up across New York, while business and advocacy organizations such as CANY have worked with the state to spin up the supply lines and infrastructure needed to support the budding industry. 

The rollout has also been less than smooth in the years since legalization, with Governor Kathy Hochul calling the process a "disaster" in January of 2024. Months later, Hochul ordered a top-to-bottom review of the state's dispensary licensing program, which currently has just 32 people handling more than 7,000 business applications, according to CBS News.