BUFFALO, N.Y. -- This week, the New York Office of Cannabis Management began a public education campaign targeted at adult consumers.

OCM Deputy Director of Public Health and Campaigns Lyla Hunt said the goal is to get people to transition from the illicit to the regulated market.

"It protects public health and safety and it helps to support our locally-run businesses and our socially equity run license structure," Hunt said.

The Why Buy Legal New York Campaign is 80% digital and 20% out-of-home advertising at places like public transit. The ads will highlight licensees from seed to sale.

"You see a cultivator," Hunt said. "You'll see a processor. You'll see a retailer and then we also show a consumer interfacing with the regulated dispensary."

Currently, only eight licensed dispensaries are open in the state with a ninth set to open Thursday. Hunt said despite many areas not yet having access to the shops, the campaign is statewide.

"As more dispensaries roll out across the state, this information will already be live, on the airwaves, on our website, available for cannabis consumers to just sort of understand what products look like in New York state," she said.

OCM conceded so-called grey market or sticker shops are currently more accessible and often less expensive than the licensed ones. The office said it found in focus groups though that many customers are willing to pay more if they know the money will stay local and the tax revenues will benefit the community.

"I think when people heard that 40% of cannabis tax revenue flows back to communities and not just any communities but communities that have been disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition for decades, it felt like a really compelling reason to buy legal and buy local," Hunt said.

She said the office is also driving home the point when consumers buy from a licensed dispensary, they know exactly what the product is and from where it came. Hunt said that's not the case on the illicit market.

"We've seen studies where there's e coli, salmonella, even lead in some of these products, not to mention the potency that's labeled on the products is wildly off," she said.

OCM said the education campaign is a multi-pronged attack and the enforcement team is continuing to work to shut down illegal operations as well.

"It's a carrot and a stick approach," Hunt said. "We've taken this approach at OCM that we want to be education first."

OCM says another important component of the campaign is promoting safe storage. Consumers are urged to keep cannabis in its original packaging and store it out of sight and reach of children and pets.