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Connections

Fresh off Best of Rochester, CITY looks ahead; Legal marijuana: where it has been and what's next

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12:00: Fresh off a huge Best of Rochester night, CITY Magazine looks ahead

1:00: Legal marijuana – where it has been and where it’s headed

It was once again a year of change for Rochester's oldest alternative (now-monthly) magazine. After a huge Best of Rochester turnout earlier this month, it's time for a check-in! Join the CITY team as they look back on 2024, and talk about plans for 2025 — from stories and video to events and community partnerships. Have an idea for CITY? Want to join the conversation? Guest host Leah Stacy and the CITY team are listening. In studio:

  • Ryan Williamson, director of strategy and operations for CITY
  • Jacob Walsh, art director for CITY
  • Patrick Hosken, arts reporter for CITY
  • Roberto Lagares, multimedia reporter for CITY

Then in our second hour, March 31, 2025 will mark four years since New York legalized recreational cannabis. But the roll-out was anything but smooth. Lawsuits stalled the granting of retail licenses, farmers who were granted a first crack at the marketplace were left sitting on literal tons of weed, and the state was left scrambling to crack down on a flourishing black market. But now, many of those growing pains have finally been quelled, and the industry passed the $1 billion mark in sales for the first time in 2024. Guest host Gino Fanelli leads a discussion about where legal pot has been, and where it's headed. Our guests:

  • Felicia Reid, deputy executive director and acting executive director of the NYS Office of Cannabis Management
  • Zach Sarkis, co-founder and executive director of NY HempLab, and founder of FLWR City Collective
  • Britni Tantalo, co-founder of the New York Cannabis Retailers Association and co-owner of Flower City Dispensary
  • Jayson Tantalo, co-founder of the New York Cannabis Retailers Association and co-owner of Flower City Dispensary
Connections
Leah Stacy is CITY magazine's editor.
Gino Fanelli is an investigative reporter who also covers City Hall. He joined the staff in 2019 by way of the Rochester Business Journal, and formerly served as a watchdog reporter for Gannett in Maryland and a stringer for the Associated Press.

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