Regulations and applications for New York’s first retail cannabis dispensaries approved

ALBANY, N.Y. (WHEC) – The Cannabis Control Board approved the application process for potential business owners who want to open legal marijuana shops in New York State on Thursday.

The first round of approvals will be for those who have been most impacted by a cannabis-related conviction, and who also have experience owning and operating a successful business in New York State.

While the application is approved, it can’t be filed with the state yet. NYS will post an alert on its website giving people a 14-day reminder when the application period opens. The state hopes to have approvals by the fall, with legal recreational sales happening before the end of the year with products grown by New York farmers. There are now 223 farms in New York licensed to grow adult-use cannabis.

“Today’s vote confirms New York’s commitment to prioritizing equity, and keeps us on track to have the first sales before the end of 2022,” said Tremaine Wright, Chair of the Cannabis Control Board. “Thanks to the tremendous effort to advance the Seeding Opportunity Imitative, we’re succeeding in a way that has never been seen before. New York is launching its legal, regulated industry with business savvy entrepreneurs who have been directly harmed by the prohibition of cannabis.”