New York Passes $4 Billion in Legal Weed Sales: How the Market Grew and Where Prices Stand

By James Buddsey · Updated October 30, 2026

New York‘s licensed adult-use dispensaries have now sold more than $4.1 billion of cannabis since the first legal sale on December 29, 2022, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Sales hit $512.6 million in the third quarter of 2026 alone, bringing 2026 sales to $1.41 billion through September, and 712 licensed retailers have reported opening statewide (OCM release, October 2, 2026).

The milestone was reported at the October 1 meeting of the Cannabis Control Board in Rochester. It comes less than three years after New York’s first store opened, and it follows a slow, lawsuit-stalled start that left the state with just a few dozen legal shops at the end of 2023. Below: how the market grew year by year, how many stores are actually open, what you pay in tax, what the state’s own data says about prices, and how to make sure the shop you walk into is licensed. For the rules on possession, public use and home growing, see our full New York marijuana laws guide.

New York Cannabis Market at a Glance

How New York Got to $4 Billion

New York’s growth curve is really a store-count curve. Legal sales were small while only a handful of Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) were open, then took off as the licensing pipeline cleared. OCM’s 2025 Annual Report lays out the year-by-year numbers:

Sources: OCM 2025 Annual Report (2023 to 2025 figures); OCM October 2, 2026 release (2026 figures and total).

Two things stand out. First, 2026 sales through September are already close to the $1.48 billion OCM recorded for the first eleven months of 2025, so New York is on track for its biggest year yet. Second, the $512.6 million third quarter works out to roughly $171 million a month (our calculation from OCM’s quarterly figure). The medical program is moving the other way: OCM reports medical sales fell from $162.1 million in 2023 to $139.1 million in 2024 and $95.5 million through November 2025, as patients shift to adult-use stores.

By region, New York City leads sales, followed by Long Island, the Mid-Hudson and the Capital District, according to the annual report. New York City also had the most stores, 214 of the 519 open on November 30, 2025. OCM put average annualized sales per store at roughly $3.8 million as of the third quarter of 2025.

How Many Dispensaries Are Open in New York?

As of the October 1, 2026 board meeting, OCM says it has licensed 1,039 adult-use retailers, counting both retail dispensaries and microbusinesses allowed to sell to the public. Of those, 712 have reported opening and 327 have not. A license is not a storefront: many approved retailers are still finding a site, finishing a build-out or waiting on local zoning.

At the same meeting the board approved 14 more licenses (2 cultivators, 5 processors, 4 retail dispensaries and 3 CAURD licenses), bringing the statewide total across all license types to 2,351. Seven of the 14 adult-use approvals, or 64%, went to social and economic equity (SEE) businesses. The board also scheduled a new cannabis nursery license application window to open November 5, 2026, capped at the first 50 applications, and gave CAURD and other provisional licensees until December 31, 2028 to complete final licensing paperwork.

What Are New York’s Cannabis Taxes?

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance sets out the current structure, in effect for sales on and after June 1, 2024:

• 13% retail tax on every adult-use purchase, made up of a 9% state excise and a 4% local excise. This is the line you see at the register.
• 9% distributor tax on the wholesale sale to the dispensary, which is built into the shelf price. For registered organizations and microbusinesses selling directly to customers, the 9% applies to 75% of the retail price.
• No sales tax. The Tax Department says adult-use cannabis products are exempt from sales tax.

The 9% distributor tax replaced New York’s original per-milligram THC potency tax on June 1, 2024. OCM’s annual report says state and local cannabis taxes collected from April 1, 2023 through November 30, 2025 totaled $340.6 million. State cannabis revenue is split 40% to schools through the State Lottery Fund, 40% to the Community Grants Reinvestment Fund and 20% to drug treatment and public education.

Where Do New York Weed Prices Stand?

Here is the honest answer: the most recent official price figures we could verify are from the third quarter of 2025. Read more: How Much Does Weed Cost? Why Cannabis Prices Differ So Much From State to State in 2026. In its 2025 Annual Report, OCM says the average retail price per unit sold peaked near $39 in early 2024 and fell roughly 15% through Q3 2025, settling near $32. OCM adds that New York prices “remain well above the national median” and that downstate shoppers pay about a 10% premium compared with upstate.

Keep in mind what “per unit” means. A unit is any single item sold, whether a pre-roll, an eighth of flower, a vape cartridge or a pack of gummies. It is not a price per gram, so it cannot be compared directly with the per-gram or per-ounce figures some other states publish.

OCM also runs a public cannabis market data dashboard, but neither the October 2026 board release nor any OCM report we found states a 2026 average price. We will not guess at one. As of October 16, 2026, the trend in the state’s own data is down, with more stores competing for the same customers, but New York remains one of the pricier legal markets in the country.

How to Tell a Licensed Dispensary From an Illegal Shop

New York’s legal market grew alongside a large unlicensed one, and OCM reports completing 2,017 enforcement actions in 2025 that seized more than $20 million worth of illicit product. Before you buy:

• Look it up. OCM’s dispensary location verification page lists every licensed store. If the address is not there, the shop is not legal.
• Check the entrance. OCM requires every licensed dispensary to post its Dispensary Verification Tool near the main entrance.
• Check the package. Legal products carry New York’s universal THC symbol and a QR code linking to lab test results.
• Be wary of “gifting.” A shop that “gifts” cannabis with a paid purchase of something else is not operating legally.

What This Means for You

For shoppers, a bigger market mostly means more choice and more convenience. With 712 licensed retailers reporting they are open, most New Yorkers now have a legal store, or licensed delivery, within reach, and the state’s own data shows average prices drifting down as stores compete. Expect to pay 13% in cannabis tax at checkout and no sales tax on top.

The rules themselves did not change with this milestone. Adults 21 and older can still carry up to 3 ounces of cannabis and 24 grams of concentrate, and dispensaries apply the same figures as a daily purchase cap. Using cannabis in any vehicle remains illegal, and taking cannabis across state lines, even into legal neighbors like New Jersey or Massachusetts, is a federal crime. Our New York law guide covers the details, and our federal marijuana law guide explains how federal rescheduling and the upcoming hemp THC limits fit in.

From the editor, James Buddsey: I have watched a lot of states cross the billion-dollar marks, and New York’s story is unusual because the money followed the stores, not the hype. Two years ago you could drive across whole counties without passing a legal shop. Now the bigger risk is walking into the wrong one. Thirty seconds on the state’s verification page is the best purchase advice I can give.

New York Cannabis Sales FAQ

For more state-by-state coverage, browse our cannabis news section and our cannabis law guides. Figures as of October 16, 2026. General information, not legal advice.