A judge on Friday granted an injunction that blocks New York from issuing new marijuana dispensary licenses during a high-profile court battle, delivering another staggering blow to the state’s floundering cannabis industry.
Justice Kevin Bryant sided with a group of service-disabled veterans that claimed state regulators unconstitutionally awarded initial dispensary licenses to businesses impacted by prior marijuana convictions. The injunction effectively puts the state’s marijuana dispensary approval process on pause indefinitely.
But Bryant’s ruling also allowed for adult-use marijuana sales to continue.
That’s because the injunction does not apply to businesses currently operating marijuana dispensaries or Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) applicants that met all requirements for licensing by Aug. 7, including but not limited to site plan approval from state regulators and, where applicable, local municipalities, court records show.
New York so far has only issued CAURD licenses as the rollout of the recreational marijuana industry continues.
The court decision came just days after settlement talks broke down in the case. The judge also ordered state regulators to continue working towards a pre-existing goal of opening up dispensary license approvals to all applicants in October. That suggested the ban on new licenses would not remain in place during any potential court battle over the constitutionality of the initial rollout phase.
Why judge issued injunction on NY marijuana dispensaries?
Bryant asserted the disabled veterans had made a convincing argument that the state Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board lacked the authority to create the CAURD category, which has exclusively awarded licenses to justice-involved businesses.
Bryant noted the 2021 state law legalizing adult-use marijuana required prioritizing a range of social equity applicants, such as minority or women-owned businesses, distressed farmers, or service-disabled…
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