The delays keep coming for New York’s recreational cannabis market. In late January, a federal court upheld an injunction blocking the state’s cannabis dispensary rollout. In the interim, the state’s gray market continues to thrive.
To say the process is frustrating for potential retailers is an understatement. This month marks two years for some teams pursuing the conditional retail license – and there’s still no end in sight. Let’s look at what’s happening on the ground.
The Story So Far
It’s been a long and winding road to get to this point. Speculation has swirled for several years that New York was moving ahead with recreational cannabis licenses. So, prospective retailers have worked hard with business partners and lawyers to get their ducks in a row.
In the early summer of last year, details finally started to emerge from the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). The first retail dispensaries to open for legal cannabis sales in the state would be under Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses. This initiative intends to give those convicted of a marijuana-related offense in the state the first opportunity to join the soon-to-be-regulated legal cannabis market. Then, regular recreational retail licenses would follow. At least that was …