skip to Main Content
New York Regulators Double CAURD Licenses to 300

New regulatory measures were approved by New York State’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) during a Cannabis Control Board meeting held this morning in Albany. The meeting, which ran a brisk 30-plus minutes, included the news that the state is doubling the number of Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses it will issue at this time, from 150 to 300.

Licenses will be increased proportionate to geographic regions of the state and will be awarded from the existing pool of CAURD applicants, said OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander.

“Our conditional adult use retail dispensary program was originally designed to kick start our legal cannabis industry by issuing up to 150 licenses across the state,” explained Alexander. “When the application period closed, OCM received over 900 applications for those 150 licenses. As of our January meeting, the Control Board has provisionally approved 66 CAURD licensees.

“In December, in light of feedback received from the applicants, licensees, and the broader cannabis community, we allowed CAURD licensees to use their own resources and bring their own dispensary locations, and we haven’t stopped listening,” he added. “We’ve heard from our licensees, and many expressed the existence of their own funds to bring their locations into operation. It’s incredible news and speaks strongly of our first-class retailers.

“At the same time,” continued Alexander, “as we’ve continued to review applications, we found there are still many qualified individuals who can make the most of this opportunity outside of that initial 150. So, in recognition of this strong pool of applicants, the ability of some of these individuals to bring their own locations and for us to stretch the resources further that the state has provided, and our desire to expand the market as quickly as possible, we’re expanding the CAURD programs to 300 licensees.”

Promise of Funding Assistance Limited to first 150

In light of the failure by New York to raise the $150 million it earmarked for the Social Equity Investment Cannabis Fund, Alexander also noted the limitations OCM will need to put on the dissemination of the funds it does have.

“It’s important to understand that the resources of the fund are not limitless and under the expansion, the first group of one of 150 licensees will continue to have access to the fund if they want it,” he stated. “Those who decline will free up resources that will be made available – but are not guaranteed – to the expanded group of 150 applicants. Equally important is that we’re continuing to develop additional programs across all license types to break down barriers to capital. At the next board meeting in April, we’re striving to send the majority of the remaining applications in eligible regions from the full pool of 300 for the Board to consider for licensure.”

Alexander also implied that the idea behind the additional licenses is to blunt illicit sales. “Through this expansion we will see more dispensaries open across the state, providing more opportunities for residents to purchase safer legal products which have been tested and passed New York State’s stringent health and safety requirements. This is another step forward in assuring that New York’s cannabis industry continues to live up to the ideals outlined in the MRTA. The CAURD licensees will be led by justice-involved individuals across the state as we continue to take important steps toward undoing the harms caused by cannabis prohibition.”

In response to a question from a Board member whether licenses will be added to the areas of the state still enjoined by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York from issuing CAURD licenses, Alexander said they are included.

“As you can see on the screen (see below), we’ll be doing a proportional increase across every region, including the enjoined regions,” he explained. “For example, Western New York will increase from 11 to 22, total licensees at the closure of the process.”

Other measures approved today by the Board included Consideration of Packaging, Labeling, Marketing & Advertising Regulations, Consideration of Laboratory Testing Regulations, and Consideration of Cannabis Research Regulations, all of which passed unanimously.

The Board also announced the start of a CAURD Accelerator Program, which is designed to provide one-on-one mentorship to licensees on a range of subjects, including operations, supply chain, compliance, marketing and sales, and fundraising, to name a few.

Links to the measures approved today can be found here along with a link to a re-stream of the meeting.

Tom Hymes

Tom Hymes

Tom Hymes, CBE Contributing Writer, is a Connecticut-based writer and editor with over 20 years’ experience covering highly regulated industries. He was born and raised in New York City. He can be reached at [email protected].

This Post Has 0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Stories

CDTFA Cannabis Creditor: Myths and Truths

By Hilary Bricken, Attorney at Husch Blackwell Dealing with creditors is never a fun experience. However, some creditors are more severe than others, especially in the cannabis industry. One of…

If FL Supreme Court approves cannabis ballot language, will voters go for recreational weed or not?

The long wait on whether Floridians will get a chance to vote to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older is almost over, as the Florida Supreme Court is…

Missouri strips marijuana licenses connected to company accused of predatory behavior

Missouri’s health department on Wednesday stripped two coveted marijuana micro-licenses tied to an out-of-state company that had been accused of predatory practices and had listed the licenses for resale. The…

Dug In: Big Island Grown’s Deep Cannabis Roots

Big Island Grown (BIG) is a vertically integrated cannabis company based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii County, on the Big Island of Hawaii, whose reach now extends to several islands in the…

More Categories

Back To Top
×Close search
Search