Compliance and Renewals for NY Cannabis Dispensaries (OCM Rules)

MRTA Article 5, Sections 90–111 control who must be licensed, how hemp products are made and sold, what testing and labeling are required, and how the State enforces compliance. Hemp is regulated separately from adult-use cannabis. Holding an adult-use license does not authorize hemp activity.

MRTA Article 3, Sections 33, 34, 35 & 36 govern who may assist certified medical cannabis patients, how Registered Organizations (ROs) operate, how medical operators register with the State, and what reporting is required to remain compliant.

This page answers: "Where can I legally put my dispensary, and how close can I be to schools, churches, or other shops?"

New York is an at-will state, but you can still be sued for wrongful termination. This page explains what you can fire for, what you cannot, and the payroll, discrimination, and retaliation traps that hit dispensaries.

A $20 wholesale item is not a $10 profit just because you doubled the price. Real profit gets eaten by labor, rent, security, cash handling, payment fees, and 280E. This page shows the exact per unit math and a $500k monthly NY example so you can price and buy inventory without going broke.

This page explains how to log waste, store it, destroy it, and prove compliance. Anything that leaves your shelves without being sold, including damaged product, expired product, customer returns, or products flagged for recall, becomes a regulated event. OCM tracks waste the same way it tracks sales, and inspectors review these logs during every inspection.

Cannabis banks monitor ownership, deposits, METRC alignment, investor disclosures, and compliance risk. This page explains the specific compliance triggers that cause cannabis banks to close accounts.

This license is designed for lean, single-site operators who want full control of their supply chain without scaling into multi-location or multi-tier operations. It allows small operators to cultivate, process, distribute, and retail cannabis, but only their own products and only within strict limits.

Section 280E of the U.S. tax code limits what cannabis businesses can deduct on their federal taxes. Because cannabis is illegal under federal law, most normal business expenses are not deductible. Only Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) may reduce taxable income.