New York issues 74 adult-use cannabis permits; 2023 applications still in review

New York regulators have approved another 74 licenses for adult-use cannabis businesses.But there’s even better news for anyone who submitted an application in November 2023: The state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) reported that only “about 150 applications” from that window remain to be reviewed, officials said Friday.

ADVERTISEMENT Of the recreational marijuana licenses issued Friday by the state Cannabis Control Board: 6 went to distributors.10 to microbusinesses.

39 to processors.16 to retailers.

Another three Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) licensees also received final approval.There are now 1,510 licensed cannabis businesses in New York State, though not every licensed entity is open for business.

As of Monday, there are 307 legal marijuana stores operating throughout the state, according to the OCM.Legal challenges to the CAURD program, intended for justice-impacted individuals, led to a nearly yearlong delay in licensing across the state.

After two major lawsuits were settled in 2023, state regulators began accepting applications for several license classes in two batches – the so-called November and December queues.Last summer, Felicia Reid, the OCM’s acting executive director, raised eyebrows when she said that OCM would not finish processing those 2023 applications until early 2025.

But that timeline’s turned out to be accurate.As of Friday, OCM officials had not yet processed 150 applications from the November queue, officials said.

ADVERTISEMENT Separately, thousands more applications from a December 2023 application queue remain to be processed.That review was briefly paused by a judge late last year.

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