New York Regulators Approve 99 New Dispensary Licenses

The New York Cannabis Control Board approved 99 new dispensary licenses on April 3. This brings the total number of provisional retail dispensary licenses (CAURD) for Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD), to 165. Wright thanked the New York Governor. Kathy Hochul and the members of the Albany state legislature were “thankful for helping us reach this point.” They also thanked the governor for his support. The applicants had to have had a cannabis conviction, or have been the family member of someone who owned and operated a profitable business. Nonprofits are eligible if they have a history of serving current and formerly incarcerated persons, including creating vocational opportunities; have at minimum one justice-involved member of the board; at least five full time employees; and have operated a social business that had net assets of profit for at least 2 years. New York’s adult-use cannabis market was launched late last year by a retail store in New York City’s East Village. While other dispensaries have opened in Manhattan, the first legal dispensary opened in Queens late last month. Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough has been excluded due to a court-ordered ban. The ban was lifted by a federal judge last month. Licenses will now be granted in Brooklyn, Central New York, Western New York, and Mid-Hudson. However, Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough, has been left out by a court-ordered ban. In New York, Black people have been arrested for cannabis-related offenses 15 times more often than their white counterparts over the past 30 years. It was 8 times more common for Latinos. These arrests perpetuated poverty in Black and Brown communities. Accordingly, to obtain a CAURD licence, one must have been affected by the enforcement of the prohibition on cannabis,” Monday’s press release stated. “We are thrilled to announce the addition to 99 more CAURD provisional licensures as we continue our swift and equitable work to establish New York’s marijuana industry,” Alexander said.