New York to probe sputtering legal marijuana program as storefronts lag, black market booms [Video]

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York will evaluate its troubled recreational marijuana licensing program after lawsuits and bureaucratic stumbles severely hampered the legal market and allowed black-market sellers to flourish, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered Monday.

The review will focus on ways the state can speed up license processing times and allow businesses to open faster, as well as a top-down assessment of the Office of Cannabis Management’s structure and systems.

Hochul, a Democrat, has described the state’s recreational marijuana rollout as a “ disaster.” Just over 80 legal shops have opened since sales beganat the end …