I visited a newly licensed marijuana farm in New York, and was shocked by how far there is to go before legal sales begin

Ben GilbertMay 21, 2022, 19:40 IST

The front of the main office building at Hudson Hemp, one of the first farms in New York State to receive a license to grow high-THC cannabis for recreational sales beginning in late 2022.Ben Gilbert/Insider

Legal sales of recreational marijuana are set to begin in New York City in late 2022.
The first legal growers were granted licenses in April so that they could have harvests ready for sale.

Sometime later this year — no one seems to know exactly when — New York City will legally allow recreational marijuana to be sold, opening what's expected to be one of the most lucrative legal cannabis markets in the world.

And right now, in preparation for the feeding frenzy, dozens of farmers are growing the marijuana that will become New York's first legal crop.

Last Friday, I visited one such farm two hours north of New York City in rural, idyllic Hudson, New York — and saw just how far there is to go before sales open.

Hudson Hemp, in Hudson, New York, is among the first few dozen farms to receive a license from New York to legally cultivate marijuana.

The view of the farm from the office, which is set inside a gorgeous old farmhouse.Ben Gilbert/Insider

The farm's first crops will be grown outdoors, both in open air and in a greenhouse.

Chief Cultivation Officer Brandon Curtin and Cultivation Manager Adam Smith surveying the farmland that will house Hudson Hemp's first legal marijuana crop.Ben Gilbert/Insider

The greenhouse will enable the farm to more carefully control the environment of its first legal marijuana crop.

The new greenhouse was just being finalized when I visited in mid-May. Hudson Hemp had started construction a few weeks before, despite not knowing if the state was going to grant its application to grow — one of many unknowns that businesses entering the cannabis market face.Ben Gilbert/Insider

With just seven months of 2022 left to go, Hudson Hemp — like the rest of the legal cannabis industry in New York state — is starting from zero.

Ben Gilbert/Insider

There are still major unknowns going into the opening of legal sales later this year. Hudson Hemp doesn't even know how its marijuana will be sold.

Ben Gilbert/Insider

In the meantime, marijuana producers like Hudson Hemp are attempting to maximize their first harvests while dealing with a vegetative product that doesn't have an infinite shelf life.

Like the garlic and banana peels in Hudson Hemp's compost pile, cannabis is an organic product that breaks down over time.Ben Gilbert/Insider

In the meantime, marijuana producers like Hudson Hemp are attempting to maximize their first harvests while dealing with a vegetative product that doesn't have an infinite shelf life.

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I visited a newly licensed marijuana farm in New York, and was shocked by how far there is to go before legal sales begin

Hudson Hemp, in Hudson, New York, is among the first few dozen farms to receive a license from New York to legally cultivate marijuana.

The farm's first crops will be grown outdoors, both in open air and in a greenhouse.

The greenhouse will enable the farm to more carefully control the environment of its first legal marijuana crop.

With just seven months of 2022 left to go, Hudson Hemp — like the rest of the legal cannabis industry in New York state — is starting from zero.

There are still major unknowns going into the opening of legal sales later this year. Hudson Hemp doesn't even know how its marijuana will be sold.

In the meantime, marijuana producers like Hudson Hemp are attempting to maximize their first harvests while dealing with a vegetative product that doesn't have an infinite shelf life.