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Reuben McDaniel, a member of the state’s Cannabis Control Board and the CEO of the authority struggling to set up licensees with stores, plans to step down from the Board this week.
Reuben McDaniel III, one of the most influential figures in the rollout of the state’s trouble-laden legal cannabis initiative, told Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office Wednesday that he is resigning from the board that regulates and approves licenses for the program, according to two sources with knowledge of his decision.
The resignation is expected to be formally announced at a meeting of the Cannabis Control Board in Buffalo on Thursday. The sources said McDaniel is only resigning from his board position at the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).
McDaniel, who was appointed by Hochul to the five-person board in September 2021, also serves as the CEO of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), another key player in the state’s plans for launching a legal cannabis market.
DASNY has contracted with a private investment firm to raise $150 million to provide financing for ready-to-open stores meant to give licensees who were convicted under the old drug laws a leg up in the legal marketplace.
Because McDaniel was involved in both approving retail licensees as a member of the OCM board while also overseeing the agency assisting licensees with locating storefronts, many considered the dual positions a conflict of interest. [Read More @ The City]
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