New York
New York cannabis attorney: enforcement defense
Kocot Law represents New York cannabis businesses and individuals before the Office of Cannabis Management and in the disputes and transactions around them. The practice here runs the same way it does everywhere: when an OCM document lands, the response clock is already running, and the answer starts with identifying exactly what you received.
The hub of the practice
OCM enforcement defense
New York cannabis runs on the Cannabis Law enacted by the MRTA and the OCM’s implementing regulations. New York’s enforcement machinery is its own system: its documents, procedures, and deadlines are not California’s, and treating them as interchangeable is how operators miss response windows. What matters on day one is the same everywhere: what document is this, what does it put at risk, and what is the actual deadline.
Investigations and inspections: OCM inquiries, records requests, and premises inspections, including the follow-up demands that turn a visit into a case.
Notices of violation and administrative fines: contest-or-pay decisions with hearing rights that expire on their own schedule.
License suspension, revocation, and non-renewal proceedings: contested administrative matters where the agency’s evidence can be tested and resolutions negotiated.
True party of interest and ownership issues: disclosure problems, undisclosed-interest allegations, and the restructuring needed to fix them.
Unlicensed-activity enforcement: New York enforces aggressively against unlicensed operations, including seizure and closure tools; individuals and landlords caught in that machinery need counsel early.
Product and inventory actions: quarantines, recalls, and marketing, packaging, and labeling violations under New York’s own rules.
Holding an OCM document? The first call is free.
Call or text (916) 572-6445
The federal layer
DEA registration for New York medical operators
New York’s registered medical operators now have a federal pathway. The April 2026 rescheduling of medical marijuana products to Schedule III opened federal DEA registration under 21 C.F.R. § 1301.13(k). Federal registration positions a New York medical operation for the eventual federal market, creates a federal compliance record, and opens the banking and tax treatment available to Schedule III operators.
- Registered organizations and medical operators evaluating whether federal registration fits their structure
- Cultivation and processing operations, including § 1301.13(k)(6) Single Convention nominal-price compliance for cultivation
- Dispensing sites serving certified patients
- Multi-state operators coordinating New York licensing with federal registration across state programs
The application requires § 823(e)-(g) public-interest analysis, Part 1301 security and storage compliance, and operational detail that gets applications stuck in review. Kocot Law handles the federal side from intake to issuance.
The rest of the file
Everything a New York operator needs handled
Licensing
OCM license applications and renewals across license types, ownership and true-party-of-interest disclosures, amendments, and defense of denials and license actions.
Licensing →
Regulatory compliance
Compliance programs built for New York’s rules: SOPs, packaging and labeling review, marketing compliance, inventory and record discipline, and inspection preparation and response.
Compliance →
Transactions & corporate
Entity structuring, supply and white-label agreements, purchase agreements, IP licensing, investor documentation, and the ownership-change filings New York requires along the way.
Transactions →
Cannabis criminal defense
Defense for individuals and businesses where cannabis matters turn criminal, including unlicensed-activity prosecutions. Ryan’s background includes criminal defense trials, and the firm works both the regulatory and criminal sides of a file.
Criminal defense →
Compliance after enforcement
Most resolutions come with obligations attached: corrective action plans, updated procedures, training. Ryan can stay on to implement them. Optional continuation, never a locked-in package.
Compliance support →
The Federal File
Free weekly newsletter on federal cannabis law for state-licensed operators: DEA registration, rescheduling, and what each development means for a New York operation.
Subscribe free →
New York questions, answered
I received an OCM notice or my premises was inspected. What now?
New York’s enforcement documents carry their own response windows, and what you say to the agency early shapes everything after. Call or text (916) 572-6445; the first conversation identifies the document, the deadline, and the first-week moves.
Are New York’s procedures the same as California’s?
No. New York’s Cannabis Law and OCM regulations are their own system, with their own documents, hearing procedures, and deadlines. Kocot Law practices in both states and keeps them distinct; advice built on the wrong state’s procedure is worse than no advice.
What is a true party of interest problem?
New York requires disclosure of the people and entities with ownership or control interests in a license, and undisclosed-interest allegations are a recurring enforcement theme. If your capital structure has evolved since licensure, or an investor’s role has grown, that is worth reviewing before the agency reviews it for you.
Have a New York cannabis question? The first 30 minutes are free.
Attorney advertising. This page is general information about New York cannabis law, not legal advice, and contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.