New York State Removes Regulatory Roadblock For Cannabis Retailers
December 5, 2023New York State is set to see its legal cannabis retail market substantially expand, with the state’s courts lifting an injunction that prevented the Cannabis Control Board from approving new retail licenses. With the floodgates now open, the state could approve hundreds of new applicants, creating the potential for New York’s legal retail cannabis landscape to reach a huge number of new consumers across the state.
The news comes as a relief to cannabis players throughout the supply chain, with the market stunted in the early going by a lack of retailers. The state had expected to have about 150 adult-use stores open this year, but currently has only 27 in operation. In the first 10 months of the year, New York’s adult-use sales totaled $104 million, according to the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), compared with sales of $883 million in Missouri, where adult-use began in February, more than a month after New York.
The injunction was lifted following the late November settlement of two lawsuits alleging that the licensing process was discriminatory. The first settled lawsuit—Carmine Fiore, et al v. New York State Cannabis Control Board—brought by military veterans, was resolved when the plaintiffs agreed to drop the suit in exchange for receiving provisional licenses, with the state also agreeing to prioritize approving or denying the current crop of pending applications. The second suit, brought by the medical cannabis licensees eager to join the adult-use market, was similarly settled in exchange for the plaintiffs receiving retail licenses. Those medical cannabis players include multi-state operators Green Thumb, Curaleaf, Acreage, and PharmaCann, which can now target the Empire State for growth in the adult-use category.
Following the courts accepting the settlements, the state’s Cannabis Control Board voted to accept the terms as well. With both the court and regulatory issues settled, the New York retail market can now expand. “Today is a good day for New York, for the dream of equity in cannabis, and for every New Yorker hoping to have a legal, licensed cannabis dispensary in their community,” said OCM executive director Chris Alexander in a statement.
New York governor Kathy Hochul celebrated the move, releasing a statement lauding the state’s ability to issue licenses again. “With this settlement behind us, hundreds of new licenses can now move forward, new stores will open, and consumers can legally buy safer, legal, tested cannabis products from New York-based entrepreneurs and small businesses,” she said. “Now, we’re putting the illicit storefronts on notice: competition from legal dispensaries is about to skyrocket, and we won’t hesitate to crack down on bad actors who break the law.”—Shane English
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