OCM just told New York operators how Cannabis Showcase Events actually work.

The program is live, and operators are applying

Cannabis Showcase Events — the multi-day off-site brand-showcase format authorized under New York Cannabis Law and Part 117 of OCM's regulations — went live for applications on Monday, May 4, 2026. The legal framework was signed into law by Governor Hochul on March 20, 2025; the final regulations were approved by the Cannabis Control Board on April 2, 2026 and became effective April 29, 2026.

The program enables licensed adult-use retail dispensaries to partner with licensed cultivators and processors and conduct sales of cannabis products at approved off-site locations — pop-ups, farmer's markets, and public markets — under a temporary permit.

The 45-day rule is firm. No exceptions.

Applications must be received by OCM at least 45 calendar days before the event start date. If the application is incomplete, the applicant receives a deficiency notice and has 15 calendar days to cure. If deficiencies aren't fixed within that window, the application is denied.

"Having managed and supported the initial cannabis grower showcase events, we tried to be a little bit flexible on submission timelines. It's clear that we needed a much more rigorous and well-defined deadline... we are going to be quite firm on the 45-day submission window." — John Kagia, Acting Executive Director, OCM

Only three event formats qualify

OCM was explicit that only three event formats are CSE-eligible under the law:

1. Standalone events organized by the licensed entities themselves — a retailer plus its cultivator and processor partners hosting an event on a farm, on Main Street, in a parking lot, or anywhere else that meets the venue rules.
2. Farmer's markets (as defined in §269 of New York Agriculture and Markets Law).
3. Public markets (as defined in §269 of NY Ag & Markets Law).

You cannot add a CSE to a concert, festival, or fair organized by someone else. Operators asking about Rolling Loud, the Stones' anniversary tour, or WrestleMania got a clear "no" — those events are not organized by licensed cannabis entities, so they don't qualify as one of the three permitted formats.

Where you can do a CSE: a broader venue universe than you'd expect

OCM signaled a "fairly expansive view" on venue selection. Eligible locations include:

• Open-air locations: beach, square, parking lot, farm, or field (NYC parks remain an open question — OCM signaled they need to update guidance language; the City decides on park access)
• Brick-and-mortar spaces (galleries, breweries, coffee shops, music venues, event spaces, vintage car lots — get creative)
• Outside of OR immediately adjacent to a licensed adult-use retail dispensary — sidewalk events on your own block are permitted
• The cultivation premises of a licensed cultivator (farm-to-experience CSE format)
• The processing premises of a licensed processor
• The cultivation and/or processing premises of a licensed microbusiness
• Farmer's markets (§269 Ag & Markets Law)
• Public markets (§269 Ag & Markets Law)

The cultivator + processor partnership rule

Every CSE requires the licensed retailer to partner with at least one cultivator and at least one processor. OCM was clear: "for every cultivator, you need a processor."

Three legal ways to fill this requirement:

Configuration	Notes
1 microbusiness license	Microbusinesses hold cultivation + processing on one license; they fill both partner slots (smallest team)
1 vertically-integrated entity with separate cultivator + processor licenses	Same entity holding both licenses fills both slots
1 distinct cultivator + 1 distinct processor	Broadest collaboration — OCM's preferred model

OCM explicitly encouraged operators to build broader partnerships: "We're encouraging folks to partner with multiple people." Kagia framed CSEs as a chance for producers to interface with consumers directly — something most regulated cannabis markets don't allow:

"In most regulated cannabis markets, the producers of the cannabis generally don't get a lot of opportunities to interface with the customers... CSEs offer cultivators and processors a chance to meet customers, help them understand their brands, their products. At a time the shelves are getting crowded and we've got a lot of manufacturers getting licensed, it's a good way to cut through the noise and get yourself known within your communities." — John Kagia, Acting Executive Director, OCM

The microbusiness restriction (and the pending fix)

Under current law, microbusinesses cannot run standalone CSEs. The statute requires the retailer and the cultivator/processor partners to be separate entities. Microbusinesses can only sell their own product, which means they'd be acting as both the retailer and the supplier at their own event — and that's not currently permitted.

OCM acknowledged this is suboptimal for the social-equity-focused microbusiness program and confirmed that a legislative amendment is currently moving through the NY State Legislature that would let microbusinesses participate fully — as both supplier and retailer — at their own standalone CSEs.

"We're hopeful that within the three weeks remaining in the legislative session that we will be able to get this finalized. We have been in support of this legislative change. But until that change gets made, our hands are bound by the law as currently written." — John Kagia, Acting Executive Director, OCM

For now, microbusinesses can participate in someone else's CSE as a partner (filling cultivator and/or processor roles), but they cannot host their own.

NYC operators: it goes through Cannabis NYC, not your Community Board

For events in any of the five boroughs, operators submit municipal approval requests to Cannabis NYC — the city's cannabis liaison office, housed within NYC Small Business Services. Cannabis NYC then coordinates with the relevant Community Board on the back end before issuing the city's determination.

OCM emphasized: "We are being deferential to the municipality. The city told us that Cannabis NYC will be the one approving these events." The Cannabis NYC contact information is published on OCM's cannabis showcase event landing page. Operators should plan to engage Cannabis NYC first.

The 14-day permit isn't 14 consecutive days

A single CSE permit covers up to 14 days of operation — and those days do not have to be consecutive. Operators can spread them across multiple weekends, custom days, custom hours per day. OCM confirmed: "You'll be able to customize the days and hours of operation for each day of operation."

This effectively turns one permit into a recurring program rather than a single event:

• 14 Saturdays in a row = ~3.5 months of every-Saturday presence at one venue
• 7 weekends (Sat+Sun) = ~2 months of every-weekend programming
• Thu/Fri/Sat across 4 weekends + 2 bonus days = a monthly mini-festival cadence

45-day annual cap per location

Each venue is capped at 45 days of CSE activity per calendar year. That math means approximately three full 14-day CSEs per location per year. Popular venues — Smorgasburg, GrowNYC Greenmarkets, Brooklyn Flea, premium private spaces — will have first-come-first-served scarcity as operators lock in their calendars early.

Inventory + Metrc: segregation is required

All products sold at a CSE must come from the retailer's existing licensed inventory. Operators cannot buy product the morning of an event. Cultivator and processor partners are paid through the dispensary's wholesale purchase order in advance.

OCM is rolling out a new Metrc module specifically for CSEs. The retailer pre-transfers designated inventory from their general retail inventory into a showcase-event inventory module before the event begins. Sales at the CSE log to that module — segregated from in-store retail sales. A bulletin from OCM explaining the Metrc workflow is forthcoming.

Internet connectivity at the event venue is required. Operators with unreliable venue Wi-Fi should bring a backup hotspot.

What's allowed and what's not, at the event

• Only the retailer permittee may conduct cannabis sales. Cultivator and processor partners are showcase guests — they educate, demo, and meet consumers, but the dispensary makes every cannabis sale.
• Cultivator and processor partners CAN sell their own branded merchandise directly at their booths — apparel, hats, accessories, glassware. The retailer-only restriction applies only to cannabis products.
• No on-site consumption. No smoking, no eating product, no sampling.
• No free samples or giveaways.
• No sales or access for anyone under 21. ID-check station at every entrance to the CSE area.

Tax: it follows the dispensary

The local cannabis excise tax revenue from CSE sales goes to the location of the retail dispensary — not the location where the event takes place. A Bayside dispensary running a CSE in Brooklyn generates Queens tax revenue, not Brooklyn's. This has implications for cross-borough municipal approval politics: host CBs bear the regulatory burden without the financial upside.

Coming soon: nursery licenses

OCM confirmed they are actively working on a new nursery license category that would allow licensed sale of cannabis plants and clones. The expected update is "later this summer." When this license type launches, nursery operators will become a new partner category for CSEs focused on home-grow customers — and a meaningful new market segment given New York's existing personal home-grow law.

How to apply: the documents required

The CSE application requires four uploaded documents:

1. Event Proximity Proof — generated from OCM's tool at LOCAL.cannabis.ny.gov, showing the venue's distance from sensitive sites.
2. Showcase's Municipal Approval (Form OCM-20-019) — signed by an official of the municipality. In NYC, this comes from Cannabis NYC.
3. Event Site Plan — showing the showcase event area boundaries, the sales area, security and storage compliance per §117.7.
4. Advertising and Marketing materials — must comply with Parts 128 and 129 of NY State cannabis regulations.

The application uses an electronic signature, so no scanned signatures are needed. All uploads are mandatory before the application can be submitted. Payment is electronic through New York Business Express; OCM specifically discouraged paper checks.

The bottom line

The CSE program is a real, live, expanding regulatory pathway. Operators who want to use it should:

• Plan 90+ days ahead — 45 for OCM, 4–6 weeks for municipal approval (longer in NYC if Cannabis NYC is figuring out its workflow).
• Build cultivator and processor partnerships now. OCM signaled they want to see broader collaboration, and microbusinesses are disproportionately valuable as 2-for-1 partners.
• Think in seasons, not single events. The 14-day permit with non-consecutive scheduling lets one permit fund a multi-month presence at a single venue.
• Get creative on venues. OCM's "expansive view" green-lights everything from cultivator farms to coffee shops to sidewalks adjacent to your own dispensary.
• Watch the microbusiness bill. Three weeks left in the legislative session. If it passes, the entire microbusiness segment opens up to standalone events.