STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Following a lawsuit claiming the state illegally passed over service disabled veterans for retail weed licenses, new regulations announced Tuesday will allow a broader range of budding entrepreneurs to open weed shops in New York.
The New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) voted Tuesday to finalize the Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) proposed regulations for the legal weed market. This approval allows more potential entrepreneurs across the state to be able to apply via a general “non-conditional” application for cultivator, processor, distributor, microbusiness and retail dispensary licenses beginning on Oct. 4, 2023.
The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) established licensing priority for social and economic equity (SEE) applicants, defined as those individuals “from communities disproportionately impacted (CDI) by the enforcement of past prohibition, minority- and women-owned businesses, distressed farmers and service-disabled veterans.”
Up until now, the state was only granting Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses to “justice-involved individuals,” who are entrepreneurs with a prior weed-related criminal offense. Now, more people eager to become weed shop owners — including minority- and women-owned businesses, distressed farmers and service-disabled veterans — will be added to the groups that can apply for a non-conditional licence.
In addition to the opening of the general license application, currently-operational “adult-use conditional cultivators and conditional processors” will also be able to apply for full, non-conditional licenses.
“Today marks the most significant expansion of New York’s legal cannabis market since legalization, and we’ve taken a massive step towards reaching our goal of having New Yorkers being able access safer, regulated cannabis across the state,” said Chris Alexander, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management.
“We are…
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