Potter cited "deep ideological and social divides" among the different parties, including "the call for equity versus the demand for tax revenue," as well as the interests of investors and of commercial cannabis providers.

The association will provide professional mediators, according to co-founder David Holland, a cannabis lawyer and longtime advocate.

Potter praised the de Blasio administration's late 2018 report, "A Fair Approach to Marijuana," which outlined the kind of legalization it would like to see. But he insisted more needs to be done as legalization moves forward.

"There's no indication of any follow-up or coordination between branches of city government," he said.

"The city actively lobbied for cannabis legalization this past session and will continue to do so in 2020," de Blasio spokeswoman Avery Cohen said. "As reflected in our Cannabis Task Force report, released in December ’18, the city wants to see a legalization framework that gives the city local control with licensing and promotes equity and opportunity for all."

Holland said New York needs to avoid the gluts in production that have occurred in Oregon and Washington state and driven prices so low it's hard for businesses to survive—and contribute to community reinvestment. The group also wants to work with illicit dealers and make them part of the new industry, an effort that has largely failed in California.

The cannabis association has its work cut out for it trying to succeed where others have stumbled, but Holland insisted that now is the time to aim high.

"We are looking for capitalism with a conscience in the cannabis space," he said.