Last verified: April 2026
The Mamdani Inauguration
The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, born in Kampala, Uganda, who represented Astoria/LIC in the State Assembly’s 36th District, became the first Muslim mayor of New York City after defeating Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa in the November 4, 2025 general election. He took office in January 2026.
The Cannabis-Politics First
Mamdani is the most openly pro-cannabis NYC mayor in history:
- He voted for the MRTA in the Assembly in March 2021, where he gave the now-famous “loud, Sour D, herb, Mary Jane, kush, green, pot, weed, zaza, a jazz cigarette” speech listing cannabis slang on the Assembly floor
- He publicly admitted purchasing cannabis at a legal NYC dispensary during the October 16, 2025 mayoral debate — a first for any NYC mayor
- His Astoria/LIC Assembly district was one of the most active emerging dispensary clusters in Queens
The FY27 Preliminary Budget
His FY27 preliminary budget (April 2026) projects NYC adult-use cannabis tax revenue of:
- $24 million in FY26
- $33 million in FY27
- $43 million by FY30
The budget tracks the city’s licensed-dispensary count growing to 211 as of December 2025 (more than double the 105 a year earlier), with another ~50 in OCM’s processing queue. The budget projection is the Mamdani administration’s first official statement of how it expects the legal-cannabis market to develop in fiscal terms.
The Adams Era Inheritance
Mayor Eric Adams (D, January 2022 to December 2025) was a former NYPD captain who ran an “enforcement-first” cannabis frame: he secured padlock authority from Albany, stood up Operation Padlock in May 2024, and made shutting down unlicensed shops a centerpiece of his quality-of-life agenda.
The federal indictment in September 2024 — five counts including bribery, wire fraud, soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions, and conspiracy to defraud the United States — and the dismissal-with-prejudice ordered by Judge Dale Ho in April 2025 after the Trump-era DOJ ordered the case dropped on February 10, 2025, dominated his final year in office. Adams declined to run in the Democratic primary, briefly tried an independent run, then suspended his campaign in 2025.
Mamdani’s Approach
As of April 2026, Mamdani has not signaled major changes to Operation Padlock or to OCM’s structural design. His administration has emphasized:
- Retail expansion as the longer-term fix to the unlicensed-shop problem
- Continued cooperation with Hochul on state-level cannabis policy — including OCM funding, the Cannabis NYC Loan Fund Phase 2, and the legislative grandfather fix for the 152 mismeasured-buffer dispensaries
- The Cannabis NYC infrastructure at Department of Small Business Services, including the FastTrac® for Cannabis Entrepreneurs program and CREATE workforce training
Governor Hochul
Governor Kathy Hochul (D) appointed the original OCM and CCB leadership in 2021, has signed every major cannabis bill since, and twice ousted top regulators — Chris Alexander in May 2024 and Felicia Reid in December 2025. Her administration has pushed the FY25 padlock authority, the FY26 budget elimination of the CCB chair’s salary (precipitating Tremaine Wright’s departure), and ongoing equity-grant programs. Hochul faces re-election in November 2026.
The City Council
The Council’s cannabis-relevant work has run through several members:
- Crystal Hudson (D-35, Brooklyn — Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene) — third-generation Brooklynite, the first out gay Black woman elected to the NYC Council, currently chair of the Committee on General Welfare. A consistent equity advocate; her district encompasses some of the highest pre-MRTA cannabis-arrest concentrations in the city
- Donovan Richards (now Queens Borough President) — led 2018 oversight hearings on NYPD cannabis arrests
- Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — sponsored the original Local Law 91 (2020) prohibiting most pre-employment cannabis testing
Borough Presidents
Mark Levine (Manhattan), Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn), Donovan Richards (Queens), Vanessa Gibson (Bronx), and Vito Fossella (Staten Island) have varied stances; Fossella is the most enforcement-friendly.
District Attorneys
| Borough | District Attorney | Posture |
|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | Alvin Bragg | Prosecutes unlicensed sales; declines personal possession; downgraded several initial Padlock felonies to misdemeanors in 2023. |
| Brooklyn | Eric Gonzalez | Among the most progressive declination policies in the country. |
| Queens | Melinda Katz | Generally follows MRTA boundaries; prosecutes large-quantity cases. |
| The Bronx | Darcel Clark | Similar to Queens. |
| Staten Island | Michael E. McMahon | Most aggressive cannabis enforcer of the five DAs; vocal Operation Padlock supporter. |
The Five-Borough Advocacy Landscape
The advocacy ecosystem includes:
- Equity Cannabis Coalition — CAURD licensee organizing
- Drug Policy Alliance NY — Melissa Moore, NY State Director
- NYCLU — Know Your Rights work on cannabis and policing
- NYC NORML — 50 years of organizing, annual Cannabis Parade
- Cannabis Workforce Initiative — Cornell ILR / NY Workforce Development Institute partnership
- Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition — chaired by Cannabis NYC’s Dasheeda Dawson
What to Watch
- Mamdani decisions on Sheriff Miranda and Operation Padlock — the most consequential immediate policy lever
- Hochul’s permanent OCM director nominee — signal of equity priority
- Hochul’s November 2026 re-election campaign — cannabis policy will be a sub-theme
- Appellate decision in Cloud Corner — either reversal or affirmance will reshape Operation Padlock
- Next OCM general adult-use retail application window — closed since December 2023
- OSC (on-site consumption) license rule-making — Mamdani administration could push for activation
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