NY Drags Closer To Marijuana Dispensaries Opening This Year

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers fired up about opening a legal marijuana dispensary could have a chance to apply as soon as this summer after a critical state board's vote Thursday.

Cannabis Control Board members approved rules for weed dispensaries applications — an important step in hitting the state's goal to see retail marijuana products sold by the year's end.

And to cut through the bureaucratic haze, here's a crucial provision: the first licenses for New Yorkers who sell weed will be those hit by past marijuana laws under the state's drug war.

"NY’s 1st cannabis dispensaries will be owned by those harmed by the overcriminalization of cannabis," the Office of Cannabis Management tweeted.

BREAKING: Cannabis Control Board just approved the regulations & application for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licenses, advancing the Seeding Opportunity Initiative.

NY’s 1st cannabis dispensaries will be owned by those harmed by the overcriminalization of cannabis.
— NYS Office of Cannabis Management (@nys_cannabis) July 14, 2022

New York's recreational marijuana law took effect in 2021, but legal — emphasis on "legal" — weed shops have yet to light up in the city.

That's because lawmakers intentionally wrote the law without rules on dispensaries. Those regulations would be crafted by a state Cannabis Control Board with an eye toward "equity" for New Yorkers who unfairly bore the brunt of marijuana laws.

The board's "Seeding Opportunity Initiative" will give the first dispensary licenses to people with past marijuana convictions and a background owning and running a small business.

Board members also approved an online application form for industrious would-be cannabis sellers. It can be viewed here.