Slow start to New York's legal pot market leaves farmers holding the bag

New York's fledgling marijuana market doesn't have enough licensed retailers to sell the 300,000 pounds (136,000 kilograms) of cannabis grown by farmers in the state. Farmers can only legally sell their product in a dozen licensed dispensaries statewide, and they're feeling a financial pinch as another growing season gets underway. Pot businesses in the West have struggled with black market competition and high taxes, but in New York, the farmers’ plight is part of the bumpy launch of New York’s recreational pot market. State leaders had always planned to gear up the market in stages, but dispensaries have debuted at a slower pace than expected.