New York Officials Issue First Adult-Use Cannabis Retail Licenses in Finger Lakes Region

The New York Cannabis Control Board (CCB) provisionally approved 36 new Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses June 15, including seven in the Finger Lakes region, which was previously blocked from receiving licenses through a court order.

The state has now issued a total of 251 CAURD licenses, according to an announcement from the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

Thirteen total CAURD licensees have opened for operation to date in five regions throughout the state.

A dispensary in Syracuse and a delivery service in The Bronx are expected to open June 16, according to the OCM.

“As of today, New York has granted adult-use dispensary licenses in every region of the state,” OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander said in a public statement. “This is only the beginning of expanding access to safer cannabis consumption. We’ve granted 251 licenses throughout the Empire State, and we’re excited to continue empowering our entrepreneurs as they lead New York’s growing cannabis industry.”

Industry stakeholders have expressed frustration with the lack of operational adult-use dispensaries across the state, which can partly be attributed to litigation that initially blocked the issuance of licenses in five regions.

RELATED: ‘The Lost Year’: New York’s Adult-Use Cannabis Industry Grapples With Sluggish Rollout

In March, a judge adjusted the injunction to only prohibit the issuance of dispensary licenses in the Finger Lakes region. The CCB then voted at its May 30 meeting to settle the lawsuit and remove the injunction, allowing regulators to award licenses in the Finger Lakes region.

“As chair of the Subcommittee on Cannabis and a proud representative from Rochester, I am relieved and pleased to see the first CAURD licensees announced for the Finger Lakes region,” Sen. Jeremy Cooney, chair of Senate Subcommittee on Cannabis, said in a public statement. “This is a huge step forward for our region, its retail applicants, legal customers, and our communities, which have suffered disinvestment for years. I thank Gov. Hochul and the Office of Cannabis Management for their commitment to resolving the lawsuit restricting access for our region, and look forward to attending the opening of the Finger Lakes’ first dispensary in the near future!”

Meanwhile, the state is grappling with a still-thriving illicit market, which regulators have taken recent steps to quash.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation into law last month to allow the OCM to take harsher action against the state’s unlicensed cannabis retailers. The bill, part of the state budget for fiscal year 2024, allows the OCM to seize product and seek injunctions to close illicit shops. It also permits the Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) to issue fines and penalties for the businesses’ unpaid taxes.

Hochul’s office announced June 8 that these plans have been set into motion and an interagency initiative is currently underway to stop the sale of cannabis in unlicensed storefronts.

“Bolstering our enforcement actions, supported by recent legislation, demonstrates our commitment to eradicating unlawful operations that pose risks to public safety and the integrity of our legal cannabis market,” CCB Chair Tremaine Wright said in a public statement. “New York State will continue working diligently to identify and shut down illegal operations throughout the state, ensuring consumer protection and supporting licensed businesses.”

Hochul announced June 15 enforcement actions taken against unlicensed cannabis businesses in Ithaca and Binghamton. OCM and DTF officials inspected unlicensed shops June 13, and seized illicit products and initiated the process of shutting down cannabis sales in five of the unlicensed storefronts.

The three shops penalized in Ithaca were Black Leaf, Zaza Convenience and The Rez. The two shops penalized in Binghamton were Green Magic and Takeoff 2.

“As the most equitable cannabis industry in the nation gains momentum, we continue to take action against bad actors who seek to skirt around our laws,” Hochul said in a public statement. “Unlicensed dispensaries violate our laws, put public health at risk, and undermine the legal cannabis market, and we will continue to take these critical enforcement measures to protect New Yorkers from illicit, unregulated sales.”

Each of the five illicit retail locations were issued a notice of violation for selling cannabis without a license, which comes with a penalty of $10,000 per day. The shops will next be subject to hearings before an Administrative Law Judge, and if ultimately deemed non-compliant, the judge may confirm the fines assessed and require the unlicensed operators to pay them.

The OCM and DTF plan to follow up on the locations to ensure that unlicensed cannabis sales have stopped. If not, the OCM can petition the State Supreme Court to order the storefronts to be padlocked closed until the businesses comply with state law.

Join us this year at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino for Cannabis Conference, the leading education and expo event for plant-touching businesses.