New York Cannabis Market Officially Opens for Business
New York's cannabis industry is officially open. You could feel it in the way people shook hands (and gave hugs) like something real had finally clicked into place. After months of headlines, regulatory hiccups, delays, and courtroom drama, New York's legal cannabis industry stepped into its own. This wasn't another soft launch or scrappy pop-up event. This was an industry showing up fully formed, ready to be taken seriously on its own terms.
The numbers tell the story: New York reached $1 billion in cannabis retail sales in 2024, with total cannabis sales of $129.53 million as of June 2025, showing remarkable year-over-year sales growth of 93.1% and unit growth of 118.7%. By April 2025, 363 adult-use dispensaries were operational, up from the 260 at the end of 2024.
New York Isn't Following the Script. It's Tearing It Up.
Let's be clear: New York cannabis doesn't look or feel like California, Michigan, or Massachusetts. It's louder. Messier. More righteous. It's built on a foundation of legacy, grit, and an authenticity that can't be faked. While other markets followed a predictable corporate script, New York is writing its own.
This movement is determined to scale without sacrificing the culture that created it: to build a thriving market that's a direct reflection of the state's social equity-first vision. The results are visible in the demographics: Social and Economic Equity (SEE) applicants represent 81% of retail dispensaries licensees and 58% of microbusiness licensees, a righteous, if not chaotic, attempt to empower those who were once punished by prohibition.
The Trade Show for People Who Hate Trade Shows
Revelry Buyers Club was the antithesis of the typical cannabis conference. There were no flashy, venture-capital-backed booths with hired models hawking pre-rolls. Instead, the event offered something far more valuable: a legitimate seat at the table for the pioneers of New York's legacy market.
What started as a tech meetup group with about 150 people at their first event has evolved into something much more significant. From then to now, On The Revel's audience has expanded by over 1000 percent, and the 2024 Revelry event featured over 180 exhibitors and 250+ retailers. The May 2025 event at Basilica Hudson was sold-out, demonstrating the growing appetite for authentic industry connections.
Small, independent brands stood their ground, showcasing not just products, but purpose. More importantly, the event brought out so many of the OGs; the growers and tastemakers who have been in this business since before it was cool, and put them shoulder-to-shoulder with newly licensed retailers. The pretense and hierarchical barriers that plague industry events in other markets seem to be gone.
While other cannabis events chase deals and dollars, Revelry prioritized the long-term: genuine human connection.
Deals were certainly made, but the real transactions were in the relationships being forged. Old friends embraced. Wisdom was passed between generations. Partnerships were born from mutual respect and the shared experience of “doing the work.” Founders Jacobi Holland and Lulu Tsui of On the Revel aren't just event organizers; they're curators, fighting for the soul of an industry at risk of forgetting where it came from.
Photo Journal: The Portrait and the Power Player
One of the weekend's most memorable moments wasn't on the schedule. It unfolded through the lens of photographer Rob Szobski as he captured an impromptu portrait session with Mike Tyson.
Rob is a legend in the space for a reason. Whether he's shooting Griselda's Westside Gunn and Benny the Butcher or an icon like Tyson, he has an uncanny ability to earn trust, stay present, and capture the soul of the moment.
The New York cannabis market, valued at USD 1.16 billion in 2023 and expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.3% from 2024 to 2030, represents more than just economic opportunity—it's a cultural movement that's redefining what legal cannabis can look like in America.
