New York's legal cannabis market is still setting sales records, but the number of stores opening their doors has dropped sharply. The state's own figures show the count of open retailers dipping between September and October, and license records point to the slowest stretch of new openings since late 2023.
For shoppers, that means the steady stream of new neighborhood dispensaries that marked 2024 and 2025 has thinned. For the hundreds of licensees still waiting to open, it is a sign of how hard the last mile has become.
What the state reported
When the Cannabis Control Board met on Sept. 3, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) said there were 717 legal dispensaries open statewide, according to its September release. That was up from the 705 we reported in August.
After the Oct. 1 meeting in Rochester, OCM's October release put the figure differently: New York has licensed 1,039 adult-use retailers, counting dispensaries and microbusinesses allowed to sell. Of those, 712 have reported opening, and 327 have not.
The two figures may not be measured in exactly the same way. The September number counts "dispensaries," while the October number counts "retailers," which includes retail microbusinesses. OCM did not explain the change. Either way, the open count did not grow over the month.
What the license records show
The state publishes a public dataset, Current OCM Licenses, that records the date each retailer opened to the public. High Today counted those dates in the version updated Oct. 12:
- First quarter of 2026: 69 openings
- Second quarter: 69 openings
- Third quarter: 38 openings (16 in July, 15 in August, 7 in September)
- Third quarter of 2025, for comparison: 65 openings
Through September, 176 retailers in the dataset opened in 2026, compared with 215 in the same months of 2025. September's seven openings are the fewest in any month since November 2023.
Two caveats apply. The dataset lists only current licenses, so stores that have since closed may not appear. And the state may add recent openings after the fact, so the September total could rise. Even so, the summer slowdown matches OCM's own flat store count.
Why it matters
Fewer openings do not mean fewer sales. OCM reported $512.6 million in third-quarter retail sales, a quarterly record, and $4.1 billion since the program began. More dollars spread across a store count that has stopped growing means more business for each shop that is already open. That matters in a market where, as we have reported, falling prices are squeezing margins.
The backlog is the bigger story. The 327 licensed retailers that have not opened are nearly a third of all retail licenses. At the same Oct. 1 meeting, the board gave conditional (CAURD) and other provisional licensees until Dec. 31, 2028 to finish their final licensing requirements, extending the earlier deadline. That gives waiting licensees more time, but it also removes near-term pressure to open. Board Chair Jessica García also pointed to municipal notice requirements, a local step licensees must meet before opening.
What to watch next
- The next board meeting. OCM has not announced a date. The board asked for reports on four open investigations at that meeting.
- Fourth-quarter openings. Holiday season is usually busy for new stores. If openings stay in single digits through December, the slowdown is real and not a data lag.
- Where stores are missing. Long Island, the North Country and the Mohawk Valley still have far fewer stores than New York City or Western New York.
The New York angle
If you have been waiting for a legal shop to open near you, it may take longer than the state's license count suggests. Before you buy, check that a store is licensed using the state's dispensary verification list, and see our earlier coverage of New York passing 705 open dispensaries. For adults 21+.