A lot of activity on a Freedom of Information request and very quickly too..
Feder writes on Linked In
Chapter 1
I’ve been asking OCM one question for three years.
In 2015, the team I was part of won New York’s 6th medical cannabis license. We scored 90.43 out of 100,- 6th of 43 applicants. I was personally vetted and approved by the Department of Health.
That license changed hands. Multiple times. It ended up in a corporate structure tied to Acreage Holdings, Canopy Growth, and a $4 billion investment from Constellation Brands.
My question: did DOH ever approve those transfers?
New York regulations require prior written approval for any ownership change. 10 NYCRR § 1004.10(b)(5). Either those approval documents exist, or they don’t. There is no third answer.
In September 2022, I submitted public records (FOIL) requests to OCM asking for exactly those documents. OCM’s own Trade Secrets Determination (March 2023) rejected Acreage’s claim that the records were exempt. OCM’s own Appeals Officer directed production in March 2025. Neither directive was ever complied with.
On March 17, 2026, I filed suit. Index No. 153352/2026, New York Supreme Court.
I’ll be posting updates as this proceeds. Follow if you want to watch a FOIL enforcement case in real time
Chapter 2
On March 17, 2026, I filed a FOIL enforcement petition (Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) in New York Supreme Court. It asks the court to compel OCM to comply with its own officers’ directives.
What happened next is, I think, worth noting on its own terms.
March 19,- two days after filing, before OCM had been formally served,- the New York State Attorney General’s office filed a letter in opposition.
March 23,– six days after filing, still before service,- Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP appeared on behalf of Acreage Holdings and NYCANNA, LLC and filed an emergency motion to intervene. The motion contained no proposed pleading (required by CPLR § 1014) and no supporting affidavit (required by CPLR § 2214(b)).
He adds
I want to be careful here. I’m not suggesting anything improper about the coordination involved.
What I will say is this: if the records I’m requesting would show that these license transfers were properly approved, producing them would be the most effective possible response to this lawsuit.
The urgency with which both the AG and Acreage moved to prevent disclosure before I had even served the papers is something I’ll leave readers to evaluate on their own.
Response By AG’s To Feder’s Filing
The New York State Office of the Attorney General intends to represent the respondent New York State Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”) in the above-captioned Article 78 upon proper service, where a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) is being sought on presentment of the order to show cause. I write to notify the Court that OCM wishes to be heard to oppose the TRO application—by remote means if possible.
