NEW YORK — A coalition including some of New York’s medical marijuana companies sued state cannabis regulators Thursday in an effort to immediately open licenses to all retail dispensary applicants.
The lawsuit, filed in state court in Albany, claims that state cannabis regulators exceeded their legal authority when they opened the initial pool of applications in August only to people with prior marijuana convictions or their family members, rather than everyone. The lawsuit names the state’s Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management, as well as senior officials, as defendants.
Offering early opportunities to people with prior marijuana convictions or their family members was an attempt to create opportunities for those who have been most affected by marijuana policing, resulting in the arrest of Black and Latino people at disproportionate rates. tall.
According to a memo filed with the lawsuit, cannabis regulatory boards “exceeded their regulatory authority” and, as a result, “indefinitely postponed licensing the hundreds of additional dispensaries needed to meet consumer demand and displace consumers.” illicit markets”.
The lawsuit comes as New York tries to jump-start its potentially huge legal market nearly two years after legalizing recreational marijuana for adult use. So far, 66 dispensary licenses have been granted. The state’s fifth store, a dispensary in Ithaca, was scheduled to open Thursday.
The lawsuit was brought by the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis, a trade association representing licensed registered medical cannabis providers, including Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, Acreage Holdings and Pharmacann. Companies have been unable to enter the adult-use market in the state due to the limited licensing program, a spokesperson for the coalition said.
This is not the first time that the state’s cannabis licensing process has been legally challenged. In November, a judge temporarily blocked New York from issuing marijuana dispensary licenses in Brooklyn and parts of upstate New York after Variscite NY One claimed that the state’s selection process improperly favors in-state residents over out-of-state residents. That case is ongoing.
Meanwhile, unauthorized pot shops and trucks have popped up across the state.
The lawsuit contends that if the licensing had been open to all applicants, it would have reduced illicit shops and generated enough tax revenue to reinvest in local communities, which are key provisions of the law that legalized recreational marijuana.
A spokesman for the Office of Cannabis Management said it had no comment on the lawsuit.
