About Us

Who This Is Built For

Purple Ocean is built for people who have to make real decisions in New York cannabis.

• Justice-involved CAURD and SEE operators
• First-time cannabis entrepreneurs
• Multi-location operators who need consistency
• Teams and managers responsible for compliance
• Anyone tired of piecing together conflicting rules from multiple sites
• Vendors & service providers trying to understand how NY cannabis retail actually works.

What’s at Stake

In this industry, unclear information doesn’t just cause confusion.

It causes:

• delayed openings
• failed inspections
• unexpected violations
• lawsuits and liability
• cash burn while waiting for approvals

Missing a single requirement can stall a buildout, trigger fines, or threaten your license.

Clear information isn’t a “nice to have.”
It’s the difference between staying on track and falling behind.

Why New York Cannabis Feels Impossible

New York cannabis is being built in real time.

Rules change. Guidance updates. Enforcement varies by agency and location.
What’s written isn’t always what’s enforced.
What’s enforced isn’t always documented.

Zoning approvals, security standards, ADA exposure, insurance demands, fire code, labor rules, delivery limits, each one comes from a different authority, with different timelines and consequences.

Operators aren’t failing because they don’t care.
They’re failing because the system is fragmented.

How Purple Ocean Works

Purple Ocean brings everything into one place.

We organize New York cannabis requirements around the decisions operators actually make, and tie each requirement back to its legal source.

That means you can quickly understand:

• what applies to you
• when it applies
• why it matters
• what it affects next

We don’t just explain rules.
We show how they connect across licensing, locations, staffing, operations, inventory, money, and long-term viability.

The value isn’t just compliance.

It’s time, alignment, and the ability to move forward with confidence instead of hesitation.

Why This Exists

Because missing information in this industry turns into real consequences.

• buildouts that stall after money is spent
• inspections that fail even when operators think they’re ready
• delayed openings that drain cash
• packaging or labeling issues that create liability
• delivery mistakes that threaten license status
• labor violations operators didn’t know existed
• ADA lawsuits before a store even opens

These setbacks are common.
They’re also preventable.

What This Represents

Purple Ocean is built on a simple belief:

Operators deserve clarity that respects their time.

Information should not be a barrier.
No one should have to decode hundreds of pages of law just to run a compliant store.
Every licensed retailer deserves a fair shot at stability, regardless of background or resources.

This wiki is a starting point, and a place to return to as the industry evolves.

Why Purple Ocean?

In business theory, you’re often told there are two paths.

A Red Ocean is crowded, competitive, cutthroat. Everyone fighting over the same ground, copying each other, racing to the bottom.

A Blue Ocean is different. It’s open, innovative, uncontested. A new category where competition becomes irrelevant because something entirely new has been created.

The cannabis industry is both.

It’s a Red Ocean of intense competition, shifting regulations, and predatory “best practices.”

But it also holds real Blue Ocean potential because the industry is being built in real time.

While the rules exist, how people navigate, understand, and operate within them is still wide open.

That’s the opportunity. Purple Ocean merges those tides.

It’s where innovation meets reality. Where vision meets execution.

We’re not here to pretend this industry is easy or idealistic.

It’s hard.

It’s messy.

It’s high-stakes.

‍We are the balance between the dreamer and the operator.

‍The people who want to build something better... and the people who have to make it work tomorrow morning.