An Opportunity Moment: New York State Approves 101 Adult Use Licenses

The New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) on Thursday approved 101 more adult use cannabis licenses including 35 Retail Dispensaries, 22 Microbusiness, 25 Cultivators, 11 Distributors, and 8 Processors.

During discussion following the motion to approve, Board Member Dr. Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins cited the importance of paying attention to where dispensaries are being approved to ensure that the whole state is being fully serviced. Board Chair Tremaine Wright supported Gilbert Jenkins’ point and furthered the position calling it “an opportunity moment” to expand participation in a robust market and to establish widespread representation throughout the state.

While this brings the year-to-date total of approved adult use licenses to 324, thousands of applicants and provisional approvals remain in limbo. In a move intended to help address these issues, the Board approved a resolution to delegate the issuance of provisional licenses to the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM)- a responsibility previously held by the CCB but limited to scheduled monthly meetings. The new process will allow continual issuance of provisional licenses for applicants who have submitted all required materials but have not yet secured an approved location. The CCB will retain its authority to approve the final licensure required for a business to begin operating.

The session was, however, not without its share of familiar concerns expressed by applicants and licensees alike. Illegal dispensaries, licensing delays, and proximity protections continue to be sources of frustration. Barring applicants from submitting a dispensary location within 1,000 feet of another dispensary applicant under consideration who has obtained “proximity protection” has created challenges on several fronts. Applicants with proximity protection who no longer wish to be approved but do not want to lose their application deposit ultimately may prevent other applicants from entering the same area. Stores that had been operating illegally and have since applied for a license may also be holding proximity protections that could prevent other licensees from opening.

Despite the challenges that some may face during the process, dispensary openings and license approvals continue at a steadily increasing pace. New York now has over 100 adult use dispensaries open throughout the state. And in another move aimed at increasing the opportunity flow for cannabis businesses, the OCM will resume the process of reviewing and approving Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary licenses, an initiative that had been on hold until April 1.

New York is a hotbed of licensing activity, and Emerald Intel is your trusted partner and source to help you make sense of it all.