“Cannabis in the City”: A Hard Look at New York’s Legal Weed Hustle—Equity, Grind, and the Real Cost of a License
East Harlem, NYC — On April 10, at Exodus Transitional Community on 124th Street, the Cannabis Justice & Equity Initiative (CJEI) hosted Community Conversations: Cannabis in the City, a no-fluff, grassroots-centered event that pulled together voices from every angle of the legal cannabis movement—advocates, business owners, regulators, clergy, and most importantly, the people who’ve been most impacted by the war on weed.
Across five panels and three breakout sessions, the message was clear: New York’s cannabis rollout is one of the most ambitious—and complicated—equity experiments in the country. But the work is far from done.
At the center of the day’s real talk was Panel III, titled “The Business of Legal Cannabis in New York: Starting a Legal Cannabis Business—Real Talk on the Challenges Ahead.” If you missed it, let us walk you into the room.
The Hustle Behind the License
The panel featured Jamil Myrie, CJEI co-founder and moderator; Coss Marte, founder of CONBUD and formerly incarcerated entrepreneur; and Terrance Keeby, a provisional license holder trying to get his business off the ground in real time.
From the jump, the vibe wasn’t celebratory. It was sobering.
“People think the license is the dream,” said Myrie, opening the discussion. “But the truth is, that’s just the ticket to get into the ring. You still have to fight.”
Marte and Keeby echoed this repeatedly: a cannabis license is not a guarantee of success—it’s a responsibility, a risk, and a grind.
“The System Was Built for Us to Lose—We’re Still Here Anyway”
Coss Marte didn’t sugarcoat the landscape. He laid out the ways big pharmaceutical and multi-state operators are already attempting to crash the market—undercutting prices, manipulating regulations, and pushing out smaller operators.
“This system was set up for the big corporations to win,” Marte said. “But we fought for our spot, and we’re still fighting to keep it.”
He talked numbers: how shelf space needs regulation, how licensing alone doesn't mean access, and how even basic operations like product pricing are rigged to favor companies with deep pockets and political clout.
“If they don’t protect small operators, this whole thing turns into a monopoly—again.”
Burn Rate, Rent, and the Real Math of Equity
Keeby’s remarks struck a nerve. He’s a license holder—but not open yet. He’s paying commercial rent, legal fees, and operational costs each month without bringing in a dollar.
“The landlord still wants the rent on the 1st,” Keeby said. “There’s no grace period for social equity.”
He talked about the mental toll, the family stress, and the reality that equity in principle doesn’t mean equity in practice—especially when banks won’t lend and private investors want half your company before you sell a single pre-roll.
“Everyone thinks a license means you’re rich. But I’m bleeding money trying to stay alive long enough to open.”
“Generational Wealth”? Not So Fast.
The panel pushed back against the overly rosy narratives floating around the legal weed industry. They emphasized that gross revenue isn’t profit—and taxes hit harder than expected.
“You’re taxed on gross—not net. So if you bought something for $100 and sold it for $150, you’re being taxed on $150, even though you only made $50,” said Myrie. “And that doesn’t even include staff, rent, legal, or packaging.”
Marte noted that cannabis businesses are selling for half of what they cost just to enter, and the industry is becoming a buyer’s market for vulture capital looking to scoop up licenses from equity owners who can’t hold on.
CJEI: Advocacy with Teeth
The event was more than a panel—it was part of a broader movement led by the Cannabis Justice & Equity Initiative (CJEI). The organization is focused on two missions:
Justice – Making sure no one sits in jail for cannabis while the legal industry profits, and pushing for full expungement of convictions across New York.
Equity – Equipping justice-impacted individuals with real access to jobs, ownership, and sustainable success in the cannabis industry.
From legal clinics on expungement to workforce training for legacy operators, CJEI is one of the few orgs in NYC grounding its work in lived experience—by and for people most impacted by past drug policy.
The event’s other panels tackled faith-based resistance to legalization, social equity loopholes, and cannabis education. But Panel III left attendees thinking hardest about the path ahead—and what survival really looks like when you’re fighting on every front: legal, financial, cultural.
Final Word: This Is a Marathon
The cannabis business in New York isn’t about instant wealth or overnight victories. It’s about persistence, policy literacy, coalition-building, and a deep understanding of how capital actually works.
As CJEI continues its Liftoff! tour across the five boroughs, the message remains: Legal weed without economic justice is just legalization for the few.
And for those in the room last Thursday—license holders, legacy dealers, curious locals, and system-impacted entrepreneurs—the fight for real equity is far from over.
