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After Rocky Start, New York Adds 200 Retail Licenses

July 25, 2023

New York regulators have opened the floodgates, issuing more than 200 cannabis retail licenses last week and nearly doubling the total number issued.

The state’s recreational cannabis rollout has been slow, hampered by lawsuits and other delays. With those complications now resolved, things now finally seem to be flowing smoothly. The 212 licenses were awarded across the state’s regions: 46 to applicants in Manhattan, 44 in Brooklyn, 28 in the Capital Region, 24 on Long Island, 18 in the Mid-Hudson, 14 in Queens, 9 each to the Finger Lakes, Western New York, and the Bronx, 5 to Richmond, 4 in the Southern Tier, and one in Central NY and the Mohawk Valley.“This expansion is necessary to help prepare New York’s market for the next phase of adult-use cannabis,” Office of Cannabis Management executive director Chris Alexander said at Wednesday’s meeting. “The decision to further expand the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program will help ensure the retail market is robust enough to sell the cannabis grown by New York farmers and accelerate the transition of New York consumers from the illicit to the legal market.”

A total of 463 CAURD licenses have been awarded to this point, resulting in 20 retail locations open to the public. Many more are somewhere in the pipeline of securing real estate, renovating, and receiving approval to open. The OCM plans to release one more swath of CAURD licenses later this year. After that, applications outside the restorative justice-focused program will open, allowing a wider part of the public a chance to join the industry.

Regulators also approved a fairly novel plan that would allow cannabis to be sold at venues like farmers markets. The Cannabis Growers’ Showcase initiative allows a minimum of three growers to partner with a licensed retailer to sell their products at non-storefront locations like farmers markets or other community events. For every three growers present, one processor will also be allowed to sell value-added cannabis products like edibles, drinks, and vape cartridges.

“Not only does it allow farmers to process and sell their crops much faster, it enables consumers to have legal access to cannabis in parts of the state that currently do not have dispensaries,” the OCM said. “This initiative will not only increase sales and retail access throughout the state, but it will also connect New York consumers directly with local cannabis farmers and homegrown brands. But this isn’t just about helping farmers; it will also make tested cannabis more accessible to consumers across the state, bringing licensed cannabis sales to communities where a local dispensary has yet to open.”—Danny Sullivan

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