'What the Hell's Going on With the New York Market?'

NYC's delays in launching legal cannabis are a sign they're doing something right, says Ashley Picillo, CEO of national consulting firm Point Seven Group.

Point Seven Group CEO Ashley Picillo got started in cannabis the same way much of our talent does — near the bottom of the food chain. Now she runs a consulting firm that's working in 40 states and successfully helping people get licensed in some of the states that are the most competitive.

"If we do our jobs well and right, then our clients are not just successful during the licensing process, but they are well poised to be operationally ready on time. Most markets stipulate that you need to be operationally ready within six months or nine months," Picillo told Vangst CEO Karson Humiston in the Proud to Work in Cannabis podcast.

Now she, along with Vangst and most of the rest of the industry, is looking to New York City, which some say could be the largest cannabis market in the world — if it ever allows retail stores to open.

The delays, she says, actually mean that New York is likely doing something right.

"New York stands to unlock a lot of opportunity throughout Europe and to really influence how many of the other medical markets in the country roll out adult-use programs. And I'm not surprised that New York has taken the stand that it has. It's just very on-brand for the state. So, I'm excited to be part of that in the ways that we are."

Listen to the podcast embedded above for the full conversation.