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New York's 1st legal marijuana crop sprouts under the sun

New York's recreational marijuana market is beginning to sprout, literally, with thin-leafed plants stretching toward the sun in farms around the state.

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The first-wave growers this year are projected to produce a couple of hundred thousand pounds of product. That would be a fraction of the projected demand in New York, which could eventually be well over 1 million pounds (454,000 kilograms) annually. But state regulators say their launch plan is to balance supply and demand, expanding cultivation as more dispensaries open. "We do think it will be sufficient to provide that initial supply to our our dispensary locations that we get up and running," Alexander said. Statewide, the large majority of cannabis grown outdoors and in greenhouses is expected to be processed for products like edibles and vapes, with the rest to be sold as smokable flower, said Allan Gandelman, president of the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association.