New York regulators approve 99 new pharmacy licenses

The New York Cannabis Control Board approved the 99 new licenses on April 3, bringing the total number of Provisional Retail Distribution Licenses for Conditional Retail Distribution for Adult Use (CAURD) to 165.

“We are proud of the approval of 99 provisional CAURD licenses today, which represents a tremendous expansion of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative as we continue to build an equitable market that offsets the harm caused by cannabis prohibition and its disproportionate enforcement,” said Tremaine Wright , the chair of the Cannabis Control Board, said in a statement.

Chris Alexander, Executive Director of the Office of Cannabis Management, said: “The approval of these licenses will help accelerate the building of a resilient and diverse supply chain, while ensuring that those disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition have meaningful opportunities to… The industry has to take part.”

Wright thanked New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and members of the Albany legislature “for helping us get to this day,” noting that the “new licenses will allow entrepreneurs to participate fairly in the legitimate marketplace and… while fostering innovation and creative diversity throughout New York’s ever-expanding cannabis supply chain.”

The Cannabis Control Board said in a press release Monday that the “licenses included four for Western New York, one for Central New York, five for MidHudson and three for Brooklyn, representing the first provisional licenses issued in those regions after the last.” Week Modification of a court order that had prevented the board from issuing it.

The Board explained the application process: “Licensing applications will continue to be sent to the Board for review on an ongoing basis. To be eligible, applicants themselves had to either have a past cannabis conviction or be a family member of someone who owns and has owned a profitable business. Nonprofit organizations were eligible if they had a history of serving current or formerly incarcerated individuals, including creating career opportunities for them; have at least one board member dealing with the judiciary; at least five full-time employees; and have operated a social enterprise with net assets or profits for at least two years.”

New York launched its adult cannabis market late last year with the opening of a retailer in the East Village area of ​​New York City.

Since then, more pharmacies have opened in Manhattan, while the first legal dispensary opened in Queens late last month, but Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough, has so far been left out due to a court-ordered ban last year.

A federal judge overturned that ban last month, paving the way for licenses to be issued not only in Brooklyn but also in Central New York, Western New York and Mid-Hudson.

The Cannabis Control Board said on April 3 that to date it has “granted at least one [Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary, or “CAURD”] provisional license in every region other than the Finger Lakes, which remains blocked by the injunction.”

The CAURD license “is a key pillar of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative,” the board said, noting that the initiative ensures that “New York’s first legal retail adult dispensaries are operated by those most impacted by enforcement of cannabis prohibition.” are or non-profit organizations whose services include support for ex-prisoners.”

“As stated in the MRTA, the marijuana laws have had a disproportionate impact on African American and Hispanic communities. Over the past 30 years, blacks in New York were 15 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis-related crimes than their white counterparts. Latinos were 8 times more likely. These arrests perpetuated a cycle of poverty in Black and Brown communities. Accordingly, the criteria for obtaining a CAURD license included being impacted by the enforcement of the cannabis ban,” the board said in Monday’s press release.

“We are pleased to announce the addition of 99 additional provisional CAURD licenses as we continue to work quickly and fairly to build the cannabis industry in New York,” said Alexander.