NEW YORK – New York state is expected to deliver its first marijuana licenses to retailers next week, the latest step in an arduous process fraught with legal red tape, but one that brings the state closer to capitalizing on the economic potential other states already have collected from recreational marijuana businesses and sales in recent years.
The state cannabis commission’s Harlem offices on 125th Street will be the site for the start of distribution of these licenses beginning Monday, according to information obtained from our sister station NBC 4 New York. But that doesn’t mean New Yorkers will be able to visit those sites on the same day or the same week. Once a business or nonprofit gets a license, it still has to complete a round of paperwork, so we’re not considering opening retail dispensaries in NYC until December at the earliest.
However, it’s not far off.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many total licenses would be granted statewide, nor how many of those licenses would be reserved for retailers in the five boroughs.
The developments come a week after a federal judge temporarily barred New York from licensing recreational marijuana dispensaries in Brooklyn and parts of upstate as it considers a legal challenge to the selection process.
New York still plans to begin adult marijuana sales later this year, starting with store owners with previous marijuana convictions or their family members. State lawmakers designed the legal marketplace to ensure that the first dealers were people directly affected by drug enforcement.
The challenge comes from Variscite NY One, which argues that the state’s selection process favors New York residents over residents of other states in violation of constitutional protections for interstate commerce.
Judge’s order temporarily prohibits state from issuing retail licenses for the five regions of the state Variscite selected in its trade application: Brooklyn, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson Region, and Western New York . It does not cover nine other regions of the state, including the rest of the city.
The ruling affects up to 63 of the 150 potential business licenses.
Office of Cannabis Management officials said last week that their board will still consider license applications later this month for up to 150 businesses and individuals, along with applications for up to 25 no-purpose licenses. of profit.
The office remains committed to “including those affected by the state’s enforcement of the cannabis ban in the marketplace we are building and, in addition, we are committed to making New York’s cannabis supply chain fully operational,” said spokesperson Freeman. Klopott in an email.
Initial-stage applicants were required to demonstrate “a significant presence in New York State.” While Variscite’s majority shareholder has a cannabis conviction, it was under Michigan law. And while the company is organized under New York law, its corporate director does not meet the significant presence requirement, according to court documents.
