Farmers and people with prior cannabis-related criminal offenses will be given priority in cannabis sale permits in New York.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced this as part of the “Seeding Opportunity Initiative” Thursday. This farm-to-store initiative makes sales in New York possible before the end of 2022, guarantees support for future equity applicants, and secures an early investment into communities most impacted by the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition.
Hochul said in a press release, “The regulations advanced by the Cannabis Control Board today will prioritize local farmers and entrepreneurs, creating jobs and opportunity for communities that have been left out and left behind. I’m proud New York will be a national model for the safe, equitable and inclusive industry we are now building.”
The Cannabis Control Board at its meeting Thursday advanced two components of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative.
First, it advanced to public comment regulations for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries. As part of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, this subset of dispensaries must be owned by equity-entrepreneurs with a prior cannabis-related criminal offense who also have a background owning and operating a small business. They will be the first to open and make sales in New York State, establishing equity-owned businesses at the front-end of New York’s adult-use market.
Second, the Board approved a license application for hemp farmers seeking to grow adult-use cannabis this spring – called the Adult-Use Conditional Cultivator License. The license was made possible by legislation Governor Hochul signed last month.
The Board designated March 15 as the opening date for the application portal.
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