New York regulators will officially open the state\u2019s cannabis market to all applicants\u2014including big businesses and existing medical marijuana companies\u2014beginning next month, under rules adopted on Tuesday. The move could allow the new retailers to open by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
But the change, meant to speed the slow rollout of New York\u2019s legal marijuana market, has sparked an outcry among smaller growers and social equity applicants. They say it will undercut the state\u2019s ambitious plan to prioritize small businesses and companies owned by people most directly impacted by prohibition.<\/p>\n
The New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) approved a handful of resolutions at its latest meeting<\/a>, including the new rules allowing the state\u2019s existing medical marijuana dispensaries to transition to the adult-use market more quickly than initially planned. Originally medical marijuana companies were to be prohibited from competing with new businesses for three years after the start of legal sales in New York, but with Tuesday\u2019s change, that will be cut down to about one year.<\/p>\n \u201cToday marks the most significant expansion of New York\u2019s legal cannabis market since legalization, and we\u2019ve taken a massive step towards reaching our goal of having New Yorkers being able access safer, regulated cannabis across the state,\u201d Chris Alexander, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), said in a statement. \u201cThe regulations finalized today are the result of robust engagement with stakeholders across the State who submitted thousands of comments. This final package truly represents the values of equity and competition that we believe are central to this market.\u201d<\/p>\n Other changes included allowing license applications for more medical marijuana businesses, known in New York as registered organizations (ROs), as well as opening applications for new research licenses.<\/p>\n AUCC & AUCP licenses in good standing can apply to transition to non-conditional licenses through the NYBE portal once the applications open and have 12 months to submit the remaining location documentation before becoming fully licensed & operational.<\/p>\n \u2014 NYS Office of Cannabis Management (@nys_cannabis) September 12, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Currently, retail licenses are only available to applicants under the so-called Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license program. To qualify for that program, an applicant has to have been \u201cjustice involved\u201d\u2014in other words, directly impacted by a marijuana-related conviction\u2014and have some experience running a profitable business. Cultivation licenses, meanwhile, were first given out to participants in New York\u2019s hemp pilot program.<\/p>\n Broadening eligibility for participation in the state\u2019s marijuana market is likely to speed the opening of more legal businesses at a time when unlicensed retailers have proliferated, particularly in New York City. Despite the state approving adult-use legalization in 2021, so far only about two dozen legal retailers have opened statewide. Meanwhile, lawsuits have temporarily halted licensing, further complicating the issue.<\/p>\n Last month, a judge halted licensing under the CAURD program<\/a>, preventing regulators from granting new conditional adult-use recreational dispensary licenses, or processing existing ones, while a legal challenge from a veterans group plays out.<\/p>\n Those who stand to benefit from the timeline change welcomed Tuesday\u2019s news.<\/p>\n The New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, which represents a number of ROs\u2014including major multi-state operators (MSOs) such as Curaleaf, Acreage Holdings, Columbia Care, Cresco Labs and others\u2014said in a statement that it \u201capplauds\u201d the efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe CCB\u2019s approval of adult-use regulations demonstrates positive forward momentum,\u201d the industry group said. \u201cToday marks a pivotal step toward expanding and sustaining the state\u2019s medical program and creation of an economically viable and equitable adult-use cannabis industry in New York. Once up and running, this market will help squeeze out illicit operators putting consumers at risk, provide growers with more opportunities to sell their products, and generate tax revenue for communities disproportionately impacted by the cannabis prohibition.\u201d<\/p>\n But the Cannabis Association of New York, which advocates for small and midsized businesses, decried CCB\u2019s move, saying in a statement that it \u201copened the door for big cannabis to come in and compete with New York-based businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRegulations must be immediately fixed,\u201d the group said, calling for changes that would give small, local cultivators the same amount of canopy grow space as ROs\u2014an effort to make them more competitive. The group also called for lower taxes and more enforcement against illegal operators.<\/p>\n In a statement on Tuesday, CCB chair Tremaine Wright called the change a \u201cdefining moment for New York State\u2019s commitment to entrepreneurship and fostering a truly diverse cannabis marketplace,\u201d adding that social equity remained a top concern.<\/p>\n \u201cOur pledge to social and economic equity will continue to take center stage,\u201d Wright said, \u201censuring that individuals and communities from all backgrounds have a fair shot at success in this burgeoning industry.\u201d<\/p>\n But during public comments, small-scale growers and dispensary licensees under CAURD expressed frustration at regulators for making changes that would create more competition from well-financed companies.<\/p>\n \u201cMSOs are looking to seize the market opportunities that we were promised and that we have worked hard for,\u201d said the founder and CEO of Freshly Baked NYC. \u201cIf unchecked, they will unfairly dominate the industry, nullifying our efforts and our investments.\u201d<\/p>\n Another said that equity businesses would have done better if they\u2019d simply opened illegal stores. \u201cYou\u2019re hurting people tremendously\u2014the very people who you\u2019re supposed to help,\u201d he told CCB members. \u201cThe CAURDs would have been better off if they\u2019d have opened illicit stores.\u201d<\/p>\n The line drew applause from many in attendance.<\/p>\n Some speakers called for Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to call a special legislative session, bringing lawmakers back to attempt to codify CAURD into statute. That, they said, would moot the current lawsuit against the program and allow conditional licensing to proceed.<\/p>\n As for growers, one said that she has grown more than 500 pounds of cannabis that is currently \u201csitting and rotting right now,\u201d because of a lack of legal places to sell it.<\/p>\n Another grower noted that September is suicide awareness month, saying she\u2019d recently called police to do a wellness check on a colleague and was aware of another industry member who also had a crisis intervention amid ongoing business struggles. \u201cThis is no joke,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re in trouble. Please do the right thing. Give the farmers a fighting chance to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n Dasheeda Dawson, a medical marijuana patient and the founding director of the municipal marijuana agency Cannabis NYC, told state regulators that more than 200 CAURD licensees had been provisionally approved in New York City.<\/p>\n \u201cI stand here to firmly say \u2018no to RO\u2019 and to stand with the CAURD licensees,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Dawson cautioned that following through on the process of building an equitable cannabis industry would be messy. \u201cGovernment has never supported Black and brown, or social equity,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are literally doing what America has never done before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people made a lot of comments about what will happen if we allow big companies to come into this industry,\u201d she added. \u201cThat\u2019s probably going to happen regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n While Tuesday\u2019s meeting saw the formal adoption of the new rules, the proposed accelerated timeline has been on the table for several months. A May preview<\/a> suggested the first co-located adult-use and medical marijuana dispensary could open this December, followed by later openings in mid-2024.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a state Senate marijuana committee last week scheduled a hearing to discuss challenges to the New York\u2019s legalization rollout<\/a>. Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D), who was appointed to lead the Senate\u2019s first-ever cannabis panel<\/a> earlier this year, described the October 30 hearing as an opportunity \u201cfinally address the many challenges that we have seen with the rollout of adult-use cannabis here in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooney said last month that he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the judge\u2019s decision to halt new cannabis licenses<\/a> while the legal challenge plays out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is no secret that New York\u2019s adult-use cannabis rollout has been slower than expected, and now is not the time to stand in the way of progress made,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe must focus on awarding non-conditional licenses, which will prioritize social equity candidates and allow more businesses to open.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the state\u2019s effort to speed consumer access to legal marijuana, regulators also launched a program, known as the Cannabis Growers Showcase (CGS), an initiative of New York\u2019s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) that allows licensed growers and processors to sell directly to consumers.<\/p>\n Regulators\u00a0voted to approve that program<\/a> in July\u00a0and quickly\u00a0began accepting applications<\/a>. The\u00a0first pop-up event kicked off in the Hudson Valley<\/a> on August 10, and another was held just down the road from this year\u2019s state fair<\/a>.<\/p>\n 14 GOP Congressional Lawmakers Tell DEA To Keep Marijuana In Schedule I And \u2018Reject\u2019 Top Health Agency\u2019s Recommendation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Lat<\/em><\/p>\n The post New York To Open Adult-Use Marijuana Market To All Businesses, Including Large Multistate Operators And Medical Cannabis Companies<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
New York regulators will officially open the state\u2019s cannabis market to all applicants\u2014including big businesses and existing medical marijuana companies\u2014beginning next month, under rules adopted on Tuesday. The move could allow the new retailers to open by the end of the year. But the change, meant to speed the slowContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68509"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68510,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68509\/revisions\/68510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: New York To Open Adult-Use Marijuana Market To All Businesses, Including Large Multistate Operators And Medical Cannabis Companies<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"