A court injunction that bars New York cannabis regulators from approving conditional dispensary licenses will continue indefinitely, according to a judicial order filed in court Friday.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bryant’s order prohibits the Cannabis Control Board and the Office of Cannabis Management from issuing new Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licenses, and from “processing, approving or investigating pending applications for CAURD.”
However, according to Judge Bryant’s decision, licensees who met all approvals before Aug. 7, 2023, will be allowed to open their stores. The order also states that the court may allow other CAURD dispensaries to open on a case-by-case basis, if state officials request permission from the judge.
“It was Defendants that decided to move forward and accelerate the CAURD program in the face of unresolved litigation and they were undeniably on notice of the alleged constitutional defects at issue,” Bryant wrote in his order. “Despite this notice, Defendants encouraged potential licensees to incur significant expenses in reliance on a program that Defendants knew was at issue in pending litigation.”
In his order, Judge Bryant encourages regulators to hurry up and start general licensing.
“Given the representations by Counsel for Defendants regarding the expected imminent approval of regulations and the Board opening an application process for all … this Court will continue to require regular appearances from counsel before the Court to provide updates and to ensure that appropriate progress is being made to ameliorate whatever impediments exist to the approval of a process that arguably will make these proceedings moot,” the order said.
Judge Bryant initially issued an injunction on the CAURD program Aug. 7, 2023, as part of a civil suit filed by service-disabled veterans who intend to apply for dispensary licenses. The Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis – a group representing…
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