rewrite this title and make it good for SEONY’s 500th cannabis retailer opens amid record-breaking sales

More than 500 adult-use cannabis stores are open in New York state, where regulators celebrated the milestone Friday amid record year-to-date sales.

Green Comfort, located upstate in Rochester, is the 500th store to begin operations, according to the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, which also reported sales of $1.4 billion so far in 2025.

“The growing number of licensed dispensaries reflect a market that’s maturing with purpose,” Felicia Reid, the OCM’s acting executive director, said in a statement.

Total sales since New York sales began in December 2022 exceed $2.44 billion, according to a presentation given to the state Cannabis Control Board on Thursday.

Regulators earlier in the year projected $1.5 billion in annual sales for 2025.

New York legal marijuana sales setting records

Monthly sales in August topped a record $215 million, according to OCM Chief Operating Officer Patrick McKeage.

September and October sales were $134 million and $136 million, respectively, but those figures could be adjusted upwards as licensees submit more data, he said.

Adult-use license awarded to social equity applicants account for 56% of New York’s 526 operating cannabis stores, according to OCM.

“Equity has been the foundation of this market from the start,” OCM Chief Equity Officer Simone Washington said in a statement. “Reaching this milestone reinforces that progress is possible when fairness is built and embedded into the system.”

Some licensed stores are still delivery-only.

The sales and dispensary milestones represent a turnaround for adult-use cannabis in New York, where lawsuits and other delays hampered the market’s launch.

Other improvements are in the works.

Last week, the state’s Cannabis Control Board said it would allow licensed cannabis shops to offer discounts and promotions, such as coupons and loyalty programs, to help cannabis stores operate more like other retailers.