Gov. Kathy Hochul and her top aides will soon launch a new search to decide who should be the next leader of the state Office of Cannabis Management, according to the governor’s office Friday.
Hochul this week fired former acting executive director Felicia A.B. Reid and OCM Deputy Counsel James Rogers after the state was forced to drop charges against a company accused of a reverse licensing scheme and trafficking illegal cannabis products into the market.
OCM’s Chief Administrative Officer Susan Filburn became department’s new interim executive director on Monday after the governor forced the resignations.
“Gov. Hochul and her administration will be launching the search for a permanent executive director in the coming weeks to lead New York’s multibillion-dollar, equitable cannabis market,” a spokesperson from Hochul’s office said in a statement Friday. “The OCM is in great hands with Sue Filburn, and the state is incredibly grateful for her service in the interim.”
In October, state cannabis regulators filed multiple charges against Omnium Health, a licensed processor and distributor. Omnium had its license revoked and was slapped with a $1 million fine over accusations the company allowed brands without a license to use their facility to create products to be sold in legal dispensaries.
Multiple sources said Friday the governor forced Reid and Rogers to resign after the state’s investigation unraveled because attorneys with OCM deployed questionable tactics to prove Omnium was breaking the rules.
OCM on Wednesday withdrew its recall order and charges against Omnium.
“Based on recently obtained, new information currently under review, the Office of Cannabis Management withdrew, without prejudice, the notice of pleading against Omnium Health Inc. — meaning OCM reserves its right to take appropriate regulatory action in the future on any licensee violations related to this matter,” OCM spokeswoman Vanessa Cheeks said. “The issues in the case remain vital to furthering the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act’s purpose. OCM is committed upholding social and economic equity, fairness, and transparency in the market—and to holding actors who violate the rules accountable. We are not able to comment further on an ongoing investigation.”
Reid served as the interim executive director of the agency for almost a year and a half after the 2024 ousting of the department’s initial executive director, Chris Alexander. Sources said the governor never fully appointed Reid because she did not have enough support from state senators, who would have had to vote and approve her nomination.
The leadership shakeup comes as the department will launch the first phase Wednesday of its long-awaited digital Seed to Sale tracking system to prevent illegal, untested products from reaching New York’s shelves.
Hochul’s administration will also start a search in the coming weeks to fill a top role at the Trade Practices Bureau that investigates trade violations.
OCM has several unfilled top positions including general counsel and a chief of staff.
Stakeholders across New York’s cannabis industry say the leadership turnover and vacancies reveal a depth of dysfunction and a lack of accountability in the department.
Don Williams, Curaleaf’s vice president of government relations and the chair of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association said OCM needs more resources to effectively regulate the industry, which could be done if Hochul’s administration worked directly with licensees.
“All we really ask of the administration is let us partner with you in these enforcement actions,” he told Spectrum News 1. “There are many of us out there that want to make this thing happen and affect some sort of positive change … We just are asking for is these shops to be shut down and allow a licensed medical and adult use program to achieve some sort of positive momentum.”
Some advocates say that the next head of the department should have cannabis business experience, but others argue it would better serve the troubled department if the governor appoints someone with experience working in the public sector — especially in a department the size of OCM.
“I don’t think that the litmus test here for the next executive director is they have to be an expert in cannabis — they can get there,” said Kaelan Castetter, a lobbyist with the Empire Cannabis Manufacturers Alliance. “They need to be an expert in leadership and positioning a government organization to adapt to a rapidly growing marketplace in the face of also rapid changes and uncertainty at the federal level.”
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as Monday, as first reported by The Washington Post, to loosen federal restrictions of cannabis as more states like New York have legalized it for recreational adult use.