Senate Finance Committee advances Jessica Garcia as chair of Cannabis Control Board

Jessica Garcia, the governor's nominee to serve as chair of the Cannabis Control Board, appeared before the New York State Senate Finance Committee on June 6 and the committee voted to advance her nomination to the full Senate; the committee recorded a voice vote of "aye," noted two members "without recommendation," and registered no opposition on the record.

Garcia, who has served on the Cannabis Control Board since October 2021 and who works as an assistant to the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), told the committee her priorities as chair would be stabilizing the agency, promoting social equity in licensing and addressing enforcement, farmer support and medical program access.

Garcia said she was "deeply honored" by the nomination and described her background in labor and nonprofit advocacy as the reason she's been asked to lead the board. "I was tapped to serve on the cannabis control board because of my work in labor to be the voice for workers in the industry," she said. She told senators she would work with agency staff and board members to "foster a culture accountable to the public" and to address the market's remaining challenges.

At the hearing senators pressed Garcia on several recurring issues in the state's cannabis rollout. Those topics included the size of the illicit market in New York City and elsewhere, delays and backlogs in license processing, support for cultivators and processors, the so-called "December queue" of pending applicants, and the state's medical cannabis program.

On industry scale and recent revenue, Garcia told the committee that the regulated market has grown quickly: "we now have close to 400 adult-use cannabis stores open across the state" and the board has "approved over 1,700 licenses," she said. Garcia said about half of adult-use licenses had been awarded to equity applicants (she described the figure as roughly 52 percent). She also said sales had reached about $500 million in the first four months of the year and that last year's sales were roughly $929 million.

On enforcement against illicit sellers, Garcia said the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the board view illicit storefronts as a major problem and have prioritized building enforcement capacity. "Allowing municipalities to take more ownership of enforcement has also been very helpful," she told the committee, and she said the agency's trade/practices unit is investigating instances of illicit activity.

On support for growers, Garcia described regulatory steps and limited financial support staff have pursued: the board recently rolled out a "Grower Showcase" regulation to help cultivators find market channels, the board has dedicated $250,000 to support cultivators with new tagging requirements tied to the seed-to-sale system the agency plans to launch later this year, and the board has worked with the Legislature on tax reforms to ease up-front tax burdens on licensees. She said additional programs supporting cultivators and small licensees remain a priority.

Several senators emphasized medical cannabis access and practitioner education. Garcia said the board has focused on public- and practitioner-education efforts and that the agency must do more to ensure registered organizations in the medical program devote resources to patient access once they enter the adult-use market.

Senators also asked Garcia about staffing and agency capacity. She said the board and OCM have added staff under recent leadership changes and that better communication between the board and agency staff would be a priority if confirmed as chair.

The committee took a voice vote to advance the nomination; on the record the committee chair called for those in favor and received "aye," recorded no opposing votes and noted two members "without recommendation." The committee indicated the nomination will next be considered by the full Senate.

Garcia closed by saying she will engage with the Legislature on matters that require statutory change and will prioritize equity, enforcement and medical access as central tasks for the board if confirmed.