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One of the premier marijuana trade groups of the Empire State, the five-year-old Cannabis Association of New York, is looking for four fresh faces to join its board of directors, after a quartet of them handed in resignations last week.
The split appears amicable for most, if not all, of the four, several of whom told NY Cannabis Insider that their departures had more to do with a shift in the group’s focus, to becoming more of a “chamber of commerce”-style lobbying organization.
The four board members who resigned, as reported by NY Cannabis Insider, were:
Daniel Dolgin
David Falkowski
Jason Klimek
Owen Martinetti
That leaves CANY with President Damien Cornwell, Franklin Henderson and Nicole N’diaye as board members for now.
Cornwell told NY Cannabis Insider that a search for replacement members is underway.
“We look forward to finding the right mix of board members to help us continue to grow into the chamber of commerce for New York’s cannabis industry, where we serve as both a policy mouthpiece for its needs and its most vocal promoter,” Cornwell said. He also thanked the departing members for their service.
Cornwell told NY Cannabis Insider late last year that he planned to refocus the trade group now that the legal cannabis market is operational, from its roots as an advocacy group that prioritized policy issues to a traditional business issues-oriented organization.
Cornwell also sparked a dustup within CANY’s ranks when he sent a letter to regulators suggesting they should consider slow-rolling or even capping the number of cannabis business licenses being issued, which drew some heated disagreement among stakeholders.
“It’s becoming more of a Chamber of Commerce … that’s maybe not the direction that I want to continue to work in,” ex-CANY board member Falkowski told NY Cannabis Insider. “It’s just not the work that I’m necessarily attracted to.”
Dolgin, another now-former board member, said he doubts the changeup will cause any disruptions at CANY, and said it was simply time for “new blood” at the organization.
“}]] The Cannabis Association of New York said a search for replacements is underway. Read More