NYC Cannabis Industry Faces New Threat: How 1 Off Distribution Shapes the Market
By Cannabrite
New York cannabis was supposed to be different.
When lawmakers rolled out legalization, they promised a market rooted in equity, shaped by justice-involved entrepreneurs, and defined by the city’s legacy operators — the men and women who built this culture when carrying weed meant carrying risk.
But barely two years into the rollout, the same story is starting to unfold here that New Yorkers swore they wouldn’t repeat: outside brands flooding in, distributors consolidating power, and local voices being drowned out by logistics.
At the center of that shift is a name most casual consumers don’t know — but every retailer does: 1 Off Distribution.
The Rise of 1 Off
Who Is 1 Off? Inside the Distribution Pipeline Moving Runtz and Other Brands Into New York
On Instagram, 1 Off bills itself as a company that “manufactures and distributes fire.” In the industry, the name comes up whenever someone asks how national brands like Runtz ended up in New York dispensaries so quickly.
In discussions around cannabis brands operating in New York, one Reddit user in r/NYSCannabis mentioned that “1 Off” is used as a distributor (distro); specifically: “Runtz is AP Cohen Licensing a large consulting firm in NYC. The email contact is 1 Off which is a distro…”
The pipeline looks like this:
- Step 1: Growers cultivate cannabis — often in-state, sometimes under opaque licensing relationships.
- Step 2: Processors like AP Cohen Licensing package and test the flower under New York’s regulatory framework. In one Certificate of Analysis for Trump Runtz 3.5g, AP Cohen is listed as the processor of record — with 1 Off’s email as the contact.
- Step 3: 1 Off Distribution moves the product, bridging processors and dispensaries. They act as the middleman — and in doing so, become the gatekeeper.
- Step 4: Retailers stock their shelves with familiar labels like Runtz, eager for customer recognition in a market where every dispensary is fighting to survive.
It’s a seamless system. Too seamless, some would argue.
Here’s a clear visual map of the NYC cannabis supply chain showing where 1 Off fits in:
Cultivator → grows the flower.
Processor (AP Cohen Licensing) → packages and tests it.
Distributor (1 Off Distribution) → moves it wholesale.
Retailer (dispensaries) → stocks shelves.
Consumer → buys the final product (often under flashy national brands like Runtz).
This makes it clear: 1 Off doesn’t own brands — they own the pipeline.
Why 1 Offs Logo Is Hard To Find
A deep dive turned up zero standard logos for “1 Off”—no registered trademarks, no brand kit, and no official graphics on their website or social feeds. Their Instagram handle is simply @1off, and the bio reads: “OUR NAME SPEAKS FOR ITSELF MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION OF FIRE.”
Behind-the-Scenes Ops 1 Off operates largely behind the scenes as a distributor—not a consumer-facing brand. Unlike dispensaries or recognizable product brands, there’s little incentive for them to build a visual identity for the public.
Contrast with Common Branding Patterns In cases where we have visual branding—like dispensaries or product lines—we often find images easily via image search.
“Runtz is AP Cohen Licensing… The email contact is 1 Off which is a distro but AP Cohen is a processor.”
The Power of the Middleman
Why Cannabis Distributors Hold So Much Power in New York’s Supply Chain
At first glance, 1 Off is just another distributor — a company doing what the law allows: moving cannabis from point A to point B. But in a fragile new market like New York, their influence runs far deeper.
Gatekeeping Access
Distributors control which retailers get product, how much they get, and when. In a market already plagued by supply bottlenecks and inconsistent inventory, that makes them indispensable. But it also makes them powerful.
Inflating Margins
Every step in the supply chain takes a cut. By the time cannabis packaged by AP Cohen passes through 1 Off and lands at a dispensary, retailers are often left with slim margins — forcing them to raise prices in a city already notorious for expensive weed.
Shaping Consumer Culture
Consumers may think they’re buying a piece of the Runtz mystique. In reality, they’re buying a jar of New York-grown cannabis funneled through AP Cohen and distributed by 1 Off. The story disappears in transit, replaced by a flashy label.
Legacy vs. Logistics
Legacy Cannabis in NYC: Culture Can’t Be Replaced by Logistics
This is where the danger lies.
Legacy isn’t about moving boxes. Legacy is about moving culture.
Legacy is the Queens delivery service that kept neighborhoods supplied during curfew. The Harlem hustler whose kitchen turned into a packaging line. The Brooklyn grower who risked raids to keep the block lit. These people weren’t middlemen — they were the foundation.
When 1 Off equates distribution power with cultural authority, it’s more than semantics. It’s a quiet rewriting of history: turning logistics into legacy.
Gold chain (top): Legacy — culture-driven, built from local hustlers → community → NYC-born brands → consumers tied to roots.
Blue chain (bottom): Logistics — distribution-driven, cultivator → processor (AP Cohen) → distributor (1 Off) → dispensary → consumer (under imported labels like Runtz).
This contrast makes the point clear: Legacy builds culture. Logistics just moves boxes.
The Danger to NYC Cannabis
The Dangers of Distribution Power: Equity, Access, and NYC’s Cannabis Future
1.Erasing Local Voices
With 1 Off moving high-demand national brands into New York, legacy operators are pushed further out. The shelves fill with Runtz, Cookies, and other imports, while NYC-born brands struggle to get placement.
2. Undermining Equity Goals
The state promised that legalization would prioritize justice-involved entrepreneurs. But if distributors like 1 Off become the gatekeepers, access is dictated not by equity — but by who they choose to carry.
3. Turning Culture into Commodity
Cannabis in New York has always been more than a product. It’s identity, history, and resilience. But when a distributor controls the flow, that culture risks being flattened into just another SKU on a manifest.
Sidebar: Follow the Box
Gold chain (top): Legacy → Local hustlers → NYC-born brands → fighting for space on the dispensary shelf.
Blue chain (bottom): Logistics → Cultivator → Processor (AP Cohen) → Distributor (1 Off) → same shelf.
Consumer (green): Faced with a choice — buy authentic NYC legacy products or shiny national imports pushed through distribution pipelines.
This shows the real clash: legacy vs. logistics meeting at the same retail point, where culture risks being erased by convenience.
From Grower to Dispensary: How New York Cannabis Products Move Through 1 Off
How a jar of Trump Runtz moves through New York’s supply chain
- Cultivator: NY-grown flower harvested under state cultivation license.
- Processor: AP Cohen Licensing packages and tests product.
- Distributor: 1 Off handles wholesale movement.
- Retailer: Licensed dispensaries like The Flowery NY or Culture House NYC add it to their menus.
- Consumer: A jar labeled Runtz is sold, with little transparency into who grew it.
What’s at Stake
1 Off may move the boxes. But they don’t move the culture. Will NYC Cannabis Be Defined by Legacy Operators or Outside Distributors?
If New York allows 1 Off’s model to dominate, the results are predictable:
- A handful of distributors wield outsized influence.
- National brands drown out local pioneers.
- The word “legacy” becomes marketing jargon.
And the equity promise that defined legalization? It gets reduced to fine print.
Cannabrite’s Stand
Why Protecting Legacy Cannabis in NYC Matters More Than Ever
At Cannabrite, we believe in protecting the definition of legacy. That means spotlighting NYC-born brands and operators — the people who built this culture before it was legal.
1 Off may move the product. But they don’t move the culture.
Legacy belongs to New York. To the risk-takers, the community builders, the pioneers who turned prohibition into possibility. And no distributor, no matter how powerful, can rewrite that truth.
- “Moving cannabis is logistics. Building cannabis culture is legacy.”
- “If distribution decides who gets shelf space, equity becomes a slogan, not a reality.
The fight over New York cannabis isn’t just about who grows or sells. It’s about who defines the story. If distributors become the storytellers, the city risks losing the very thing that makes its cannabis culture unique.
Legacy can’t be packaged, shipped, and dropped at a dispensary. Legacy is New York. And it’s time to defend it.