The city is looking for a self-starter who is ready to roll.
Mayor Eric Adams is quietly conducting a job search for a first-ever “Cannabis NYC Founding Director” to rep the city’s marijuana interests once the state officially gets legal pot sales going.
The city is looking for a “senior level professional” with experience working either with government, regulatory entities — or the cannabis industry.
Adams’ new pot promoter can be either a lawyer, an architect, an engineer or an accountant, according to the job listing posted last week by the Department of Small Business Services.
City Hall told The Post they are already interviewing candidates for the position.
The city’s pot czar will be a “liaison” between City Hall and the state Office of Cannabis Management, according to the job description – but the Big Apple will be answering to the state, which has been charged with regulating the industry according to the Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act signed into law last March.
One source close to Adams said the mayor is looking for someone to fill the role who has had “lived experiences, understands the industry and has been unfairly targeted in the past by law enforcement to give them an opportunity to be part of the growing cannabis economy.”
While no dollar figure for the salary accompanies the job post – a tag next to the job post says “salary to commensurate with experience.”
“Obviously they have to have experience with marijuana. I don’t know how many people have done that except for out of state people, except maybe drug dealers,” Queens Democratic City Councilman Bob Holden told The Post.
“I think smoking or dealing — and that’s what I don’t want, I don’t want someone if they made a living out of dealing marijuana and maybe other things.”
The city’s record-busting $101 billion budget included around $4.8 million to help aspiring Big Apple license holders open facilities.
Sales are not yet legal in New York, but OCM estimates sales to be allowed by the end of 2022.
The five boroughs should expect an influx of customers from Long Island, especially tokers hailing from Nassau County where a majority of municipalities opted out of pot sales.
Last year, cops were told to back off adults smoking weed in public places – unless there’s money involved in the exchange of marijuana. But OCM recently cracked down on illegal sellers, with 18 of the 52 businesses smacked for breaking the rules located in New York City.
Mayor Adams himself told reporters on Friday the thing he smells most when walking through the city is pot.
“The No. 1 thing I smell right now is pot. It’s like everybody’s smoking a joint now,” Adams said with a chuckle in response to a question from The Post.
“You know, everybody has a joint.”
The only license OCM has given out so far is to farmers and is set to grant licenses to manufacturers to process drugs into edibles and other products soon.
Licenses for retail sellers – those seeking to open weed shops or lounges – are on track to be issued by the fall. The state is expected to award a high of 200 retail sales licenses.
Adams has previously said he backs a state policy that puts people previously convicted of drug crimes “front in line” to get the first marijuana dispensary licenses.
OCM approved those application regulations during a Thursday meeting, which are set to take effect on Aug. 3.
Once approved, retail shops won’t be allowed to operate within 500 feet of a school ground or 200 feet from a house of worship.
“The Office is working on regulations to better outline the roles for municipalities as it relates to local zoning. The Office plans to create a collaborative partnership with municipal bodies, including in New York City, to make sure their communities will be heard,” OCM spokesman Aaron Ghitelman told The Post in a statement.
“There is nothing in Cannabis Law preventing multiple retail dispensaries from opening near each other, but as the Office continues to draft regulations, we are looking at options relating to retail dispensary density and concentration for public health purposes.”
The state projects the industry will bring in $1.25 billion in revenue over the course of six years.
