A state Office of Cannabis Management license plate is seen Feb. 6, 2024, in Colonie.

The Office of Cannabis Management’s decision last month to abruptly drop its case against the cannabis processor Omnium should alarm anyone who cares about the future of New York’s regulated cannabis industry. Coupled with the sudden departure of the agency’s executive director and chief of its Trade Practices Bureau, it sends a clear and troubling signal that at the very moment when market integrity is most at risk, the state’s chief watchdog is stepping back.

It’s disappointing to see, but it also presents an opportunity for Gov. Kathy Hochul to double down on ensuring the integrity of the market and the tax revenue it generates. The governor should take three steps in doing so.

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First, she must ensure the Office of Cannabis Management has leadership in a new executive director, chief of staff and general counsel with the necessary skills to run an agency that regulates a complex, ever-changing industry. Second, she must allocate resources to the agency to bolster its investigative and legal staff so it can better handle complex cases. And third, she ought to form an inter-agency task force........

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