New York promised to put independent businesses at the heart of the legal pot industry. Now major medical marijuana companies are making their play amid the state’s stalled retail launch.

In early 2017, there might not have been a flashier entrepreneur in the legal cannabis industry than Adam Bierman. In Los Angeles, his company, MedMen, had become known for its glossy red storefronts with sleek, minimalist interiors that drew comparisons to Apple Stores and the eyes of investors.

California had already legalized weed, allowing his company to expand from the medical marijuana market, and he proceeded to dot L.A.s’ skyline with red billboards promoting his brand. New York was years behind California on legalization, but it had an allure. He pursued the acquisition of one of the state’s five authorized medical marijuana companies in anticipation of the day New York would follow what looked like an inevitable path to full legalization.

“It was a future investment,” said Bierman. “Manhattan is a jewel — maybe the jewel in North America — for building a brand around the world.”

In 2018, MedMen opened one of its signature retail stores, for medical users only, on Fifth Avenue, envisioning the day it would sell to the broad mix of New Yorkers and tourists passing by.

While corporate controversy led to Bierman’s exit from the business a few years ago, many investors and cannabis entrepreneurs have flocked to New York in his stead, bitten by the same bug. Today, there are 11 medical marijuana companies licensed in the state. Each has invested millions in its operations, all with the gleam of the 2021 legalization in their eyes. [Read More @ The City]