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On Monday, Nov. 21, the state’s Cannabis Control Board approved the first recreational marijuana licenses for 28 business owners and eight nonprofit organizations.
After the Office of Cannabis Management received over 900 applications for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses, the state board will make up to 150 licenses available to individual businesses and another 25 will be reserved for nonprofits, the board said.
Most of the retail licenses announced Monday went to business owners who have been most impacted by the war on drugs, as part of the state’s Seeding Opportunity Initiative, which was announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office in March 2022.
Under the initiative, applicants awarded CAURD licenses are required to either have faced a marijuana conviction themselves or be related to someone who has. They also must have owned a profitable business.
The nonprofit organizations that received CAURD licenses were required to have a history of serving current or formerly incarcerated individuals, including helping them find jobs.
Going forward, those applying for recreational marijuana licenses will be considered on a rolling basis, WNBC reports.
“Today is a monumental day for New York’s nascent cannabis industry," Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright said.
"With the first adult-use retail dispensary licenses in the hands of businesses and eligible nonprofits, we’ve ensured the first sales will be made at dispensaries operated by those impacted by the unjust enforcement of cannabis prohibition," he continued.
“This is just the start. We will continue to work to build an industry that is open to anyone who wants to participate."
The first pot dispensaries in New York are expected to be open by the end of the year.
State lawmakers legalized recreational marijuana for those 21 and older in March 2021, making it legal to possess up to three ounces of the drug or 24 grams of concentrate for personal use.
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