New York's legal weed market was losing to the black market. Hochul just cut a wage board and a union-deal mandate

New York legalized cannabis in 2021, but heavy rules kept the illicit market far bigger than the legal one. Last week, Albany finally took some weight off licensed businesses.

What changed:

• No cannabis wage board. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed S.B. 10643 only on the condition that lawmakers drop its three-member Cannabis Wage Board and its new paperwork demands: full ownership structures, management agreements, and the pay and hours of every position. Her memo said those pieces "could raise costs for licensees and drive consumers to the illicit market."
• The labor peace mandate is gone. Hochul also signed a repeal of the rule that made cannabis businesses sign a "labor peace agreement" with a union before they could get a license. Signing one is now voluntary. A Brooklyn dispensary had sued over the mandate, arguing federal labor law preempts it, and courts already struck down similar mandates in New Jersey (August) and Oregon (2025).

Why it matters: When the legal option is buried in red tape, people buy from the corner instead. Cutting compliance costs and dropping forced union deals is how a legal market actually beats the black market. Other states with the same mandates, like Virginia and California, should take note.

Source: Reason: New York Takes Steps Toward a Freer Cannabis Market