Debra Borchardt
New York may not have an adult-use cannabis program in place, but that doesn’t mean cannabis companies are waiting. Australis Capital (CSE: AUSA)(OTCQB: AUSAF), also known as Audacious, said it has successfully completed its first harvest of adult-use cannabis in New York state with its partner Hempire.
“We are very pleased with the rapid execution of our New York project with Hempire,” CEO Terry Booth said. “This harvest sets us up to establish our brand with dispensary owners and generate revenues from adult-use cannabis sales in New York state. We will continue to expand our project and are exploring options for winter cultivation to further boost our growth. With our manufacturing managed by Anthony (DeMeo), who is highly regarded in the medical and legacy cannabis space, consumers can look forward to a highly positive user experience of the Audacious products.”
Following the successful harvest, Audacious said it shipped its flower for processing and manufacturing into vapes and edibles. The company noted that the process will be overseen by DeMeo, one of the original trailblazers in the cannabis industry with an exemplary reputation for the quality of his extract products. DeMeo currently also holds the position of co-chair of Commercial Extraction and Manufacturing at Oaksterdam University, a recognized leader in cannabis education.
Time Line Discrepancy
Audacious said it is in negotiations with dispensary license candidates to secure pre-sales of its product. However, at this time no actual adult-use licenses have been awarded, and the New York program has yet to establish any rules and regulations.
Green Market Report wrote that Tremaine Wright, the chair of the New York Cannabis Control Board, said in an interview this week with NY Cannabis Insider that licensing – and therefore sales – almost certainly won’t happen until sometime next year. She said that industry regulations may be completed by the end of 2022, but licensing won’t start until the first quarter or even the second quarter of 2023.
Audacious though said in its press release that the Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board reiterated that the first adult-use marijuana sales will happen before 2023. Governor Kathy Hochul is also on record stating that the timeline remains on track, with about 20 dispensaries coming online per month after the initial launch.
Considering that there are only a couple of months left in 2022, the likelihood of a program being established and licenses awarded within eight weeks is close to zero.
