More than 900 applications for retail dispensaries are submitted to New York.

by Therin Miller | October 5, 2022

Before the application period concluded on Monday, New York authorities received more than 900 applications for adult-use retail cannabis dispensaries, according to Syracuse.com. Although state officials have not yet released industry regulations, the state intends to initially grant conditional adult-use retail dispensary licenses in the first licensing round.

Before March 31, 2021, applicants for the conditional licenses must have been detained in New York for a cannabis-related violation (or have a family member who was), and they must have run a successful business for at least two years. According to the article, licenses will also have access to storefronts that are now being secured and converted by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) into dispensary locations.

A March Siena University survey indicated that 54% of New Yorkers disagree with the idea of awarding the first round of adult-use permits to applicants who meet social equality criteria.

Additionally, the state intends to provide 25 licenses to deserving NGOs, but these groups will not access the DASNY properties or the $200 million social equity cannabis investment fund.

By area, the state intends to distribute the licenses. The Manhattan area is expected to receive the most licenses - 22, followed by Long Island at 20, Brooklyn- 19, Mid-Hudson - 17, Queens - 16, Western New York at 11, the Bronx - 10, Finger Lakes - 9, Central New York and the Capital Region with seven each, the North Country - 4, Staten Island and the Southern Tier (3 each), and the Mohawk Valley (3).

The study states that state authorities continue to expect the first conditional adult-use retail dispensary to open before the end of the year, although the schedule for the deployment of adult-use dispensaries has altered from before the end of the year to maybe the middle of next year.