This week, the New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) approved a settlement in the lawsuit that has delayed dispensary openings across the state. According to a press release from the CCB, until the plaintiffs agree to the terms, and the state Supreme Court approves it, the settlement will remain confidential.
But if everyone does sign off on it, a path forward should follow for the more than 400 dispensary applicants currently hanging in limbo.
In August, a group of service-disabled veterans filed suit against the state, saying they had been unfairly left out of the first round of licensees. They argued that, according to the 2021 Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, the first set of retail licenses should have gone to communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis regulations, distressed farmers, veterans who incurred a disability as a result of their service and women- and minority-owned businesses.
The lawsuit claimed the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the CCB ran afoul of the law when they created the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license program, which limited the first round of licensees to “justice involved individuals” who either had a past marijuana-related conviction or a relationship to someone who did.
These arguments echo those made by a coalition which included medical marijuana companies earlier in the year. Their case was included in the settlement vote.
Shortly after the suit was filed, the judge granted an injunction preventing the state from issuing or processing any additional CAURD licenses pending future order from the court. A select few applicants were allowed to appeal to the judge on a case-by-case basis, but the rest were left hanging as the case stretched into the harvest season.
Chris Alexander, Executive Director of the OCM, said he has been “deeply inspired by the grit and tenacity of our CAURD license holders.” Many have for months been voicing their frustrations during public comment sessions.
Alexander said the CCB’s settlement vote brings them “one step closer to resolving litigation brought forth by equity entrepreneurs and our medical operators who felt that they were being left behind. Now that we have opened up licensing to all equity entrepreneurs and provided a clear pathway to participation in the adult-use market for our medical operators, we are able to continue to move this program forward together.”
The injunction slowed the number of new dispensaries opening in the state to a trickle, but retailers aren’t the only businesses impacted by the slow rollout. There are nearly ten times as many growers operating in the state, and some are still struggling to find a market for their product more than a year after the first licenses went out.