Terrapin Care Station Abandons New York Production Facility Plans Due to Delayed Market Launch

LOS ANGELES– Colorado-based cannabis company Terrapin Care Station has decided to abandon its plans for a production facility in the town of Auburn, New York. The decision was reportedly made due to delays in the broader market becoming operational.

Terrapin Care Station is a second-tier multistate operator that has a presence in several US states, including Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania in addition to its home state of Colorado. According to the company’s website, Terrapin’s mission is to provide high-quality cannabis products to consumers and to help people discover the benefits of cannabis.

In 2021, Terrapin signed a real estate deal to buy land for a manufacturing facility in Auburn. However, the deal never closed because the company waited to see how the recreational market rollout would go. Unfortunately, the results have not been encouraging to Terrapin officials, as reported by Auburnpub.com.

“We have watched implementation of the program crippled by painful delays and lawsuits. Ultimately, cannabis retail has not launched adequately to justify entering the market with a production facility at this time,” Terrapin’s vice president of communications, Peter Marcus, wrote to Auburnpub.com.

Marcus went on to say that the original plan – a $20 million manufacturing plant in Auburn that would have created 100 jobs – may still come to fruition at some point in the future, and local officials have been “incredible to work with.”

Terrapin informed city officials, from whom the company had planned to purchase real estate for its facility, of its decision last week.

One city councilor said the news was “indicative of the dysfunction in Albany” regarding the recreational cannabis market rollout. The state of New York legalized recreational cannabis use for adults over 21 years old in March 2021. However, the rollout has been slow and fraught with legal challenges, leading to delays in the opening of retail stores.

As of May 1, there are only nine operational recreational retailers in the state of New York, despite 165 conditional adult use retail dispensary (CAURD) permits having been awarded. A lawsuit from a Michigan cannabis entrepreneur has stalled all retail licensing in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The delays in the rollout of the recreational cannabis market in New York have frustrated cannabis entrepreneurs and investors alike. However, many remain optimistic about the potential of the market once it is fully operational. The state’s size and population make it a potentially lucrative market for cannabis companies. The slow rollout has also created opportunities for companies that are able to navigate the regulatory environment and establish a foothold in the market.