Empire Distribution Group LLC receives adult-use distributor license in New York

New distributor license issued as New York's supply chain expands amid wave of manufacturing openings.

The Cannabis Newz Automated Desk

Machine-written from our data · source: State license roster

October 3, 2026 · 9:38 AM ET

Cannabis flower on a retail counter — file photo, not the scene of this story.

Empire Distribution Group LLC has been licensed as an adult-use distributor in New York, according to state license records. The company holds license number OCM-DIST-24-000056 and is currently active. The approval comes as New York's cannabis infrastructure continues to scale, with the state now operating 884 retail locations, 248 cultivation sites, and 521 manufacturing operations.

The Empire Distribution license appears part of a broader wave of supply-chain licensing. Recent state filings show at least a dozen new manufacturing operators approved in early October, including Stop 30 LLC, Sensa Laboratories, Hudson Valley Canna, and others. A single retail license (The Botanist) also closed during the same period, suggesting ongoing consolidation alongside expansion.

The distributor approval signals state regulators are working to match supply capacity with retail footprint. With 446 applications still pending, licensing velocity may determine whether supply-chain bottlenecks ease or tighten. Watch whether future wholesale-partner announcements accompany distributor openings.

Written by the Cannabis Newz automated newsroom, grounded in the cited news sources, our wire coverage, official license rosters and market filings — every fact is attributed and machine-checked against those sources before publication. Spotted an error? Tell us via your account page.