Cannabis leaders told county officials this week at a conference in Albany they should not depend on the state Office of Cannabis Management to dictate the presence of cannabis in their communities, including getting control of illicit dispensaries.

The prohibition of recreational cannabis ended in the state nearly three years ago this month, but local elected officials in different parts of the state continue to have questions about the new policy and regional consequences. 

"There are laws on the books," said Damien Cornwall, owner of Binghamton dispensary Just Breathe and president of the Cannabis Association of New York. "You can't win a fight by going to the referee. You win a fight by fighting — so fight. If this is not what you want in your town, make that known and change it. That's all. It starts at home."

Local officials from around the state posed questions Tuesday to officials from the state Office of Cannabis Management and cannabis business owners. OCM staff told local leaders the state is focused on opening legal brick-and-morter dispensaries and shuttering thousands of illicit stores statewide amid a bumbling rollout that's angered Gov. Kathy Hochul.

"One thing that's been clear is the governor isn't mad about the enforcement issues — she's livid about it," said Phil Rumsey, OCM's deputy director of intergovernmental affairs.

Hochul proposed in her executive budget giving OCM and localities additional enforcement powers to shutter illegal dispensaries.

Cornwall said Tuesday's workshop allowed local elected officials to understand they have the power to can change the cannabis environment in the state and shutter thousands of illicit stores in operation statewide.

"You just need the fortitude and appetite to do what's right for the sake of doing what's right," Cornwall said. "It make take a day, may take a month, a year, maybe two, but at the end of the day, your committment is what matters most...You just have to draw a line in the sand [and say] 'enough's enough.'"

As the market matures, it's estimated that one in three New Yorkers will be consumers of medical or recreational cannabis products, members of the Cannabis Association of New York said.

Gensee County Legislator Gary Maha said officials, especially in upstate or rural communities, need more education about the law.

"I think there is confusion and just the unknown," said Maha, a Republican who represents areas of the city of Batavia. "I didn't know there's five different types of licenses until I heard that in here today."

Maha, a retired Genesee County sheriff of 29 years, said the state must increase funding for law enforcement to train more drug recognition experts as the market grows.

Things got tense when people pressed on the agency's specific timeline for license approvals or the number of illegal stores in each county across the state. OCM Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Tahlil McGough declined to give those details, citing ongoing investigations.

"When you want certain types of information, you can ask for it — it doesn't mean you're going to get it and here's the reasons why," McGough said. "It's that simple."

Officials from other upstate counties that want the tax revenue said they have been waiting for OCM to allow dispensaries that operate in other states, or Multi-State Operators, to move in. McGough said he expects New York's business won't open to those larger companies for at least a year, prioritizing CAURD licensees and other general adult-use applications first.

"We are not fully operational as an office or as a cannabis market in the state," McGough added. "We still have a long way to go."

Chemung County Legislator and county Farm Bureau president Lawana Morse said farmers in her community have struggled to connect with 40 processors in operation across the state

Cannabis processors turn the raw cannabis plant into legally sellable and packaged products,

"They've gone broke," said Morse, a Republican who represents the tosn of Catlin and Veteran. "it's been a real financial burden for them in anticipation of this."

OCM plans to issue licenses to 220 more processors this year of 538 total applications.

But withlocalities that don't welcome cannabis, the industry isn't going anywhere.

Cornwall said the state must include more resources for OCM to speed up the review of applications.

"Everybody's trying their hardest to get it off the ground," he said of recreational marijuana in New York.