Walking the streets throughout Manhattan you’ll see new convenience stores, smoke shops and stores that sell only cannabis-related products opening everywhere. These businesses are thriving at least for the time being. The stores are typically under 1,000 square feet and they usually open one store on a block but there are blocks that have more than one store – in some cases on the same side of the street. “Smoke and Vape” has been open on 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen for years but this past week, “The Forbidden Cannabis” has opened a few doors north on the same block. Many stores sell soda, juices, pipes, etc. in addition to cannabis. The new store that opened last month on West 42nd Street and 9th Avenue, “The Green Light District” sells only different forms of cannabis and CBD.
The future of these new stores will ultimately be in the hands of the New York State Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) which was signed into law on March 31, 2021 legalizing adult-use cannabis (also known as marijuana, or recreational marijuana). The legislation created a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) governed by a Cannabis Control Board to comprehensively regulate adult-use, medical, and hemp cannabis. The OCM will issue licenses and develop regulations outlining how and when business can participate in the new industry.
According to OCM, there will be 22 new licenses granted in Manhattan. A breakdown of the number of conditional adult-use retail dispensaries (CAURD) indicates that up 150 licenses will be award across 14 regions of the state, with most licenses in New York City and Long Island.
OCM states that the primary goal of the CAURD license is to create opportunities for New Yorkers harmed most by the prohibition of cannabis by granting up to 150 CAURD licenses to individuals who themselves, or their close family members, have had past eligible cannabis-related offenses and have ownership stakes in profitable businesses.
The New York Post reported that OCM spokesperson Aaron Ghitelman said that the newly opened unlicensed dispensaries “are illegal as there are no licensed adult-use cannabis sales at this time in the State of New York and we will work with our partners to enforce the law.” OCM has sent out more than 50 cease-and-desist letters, which warn shops that “any unlicensed sale of cannabis is illegal” and that “failure to cease this activity puts your ability to obtain a license in the legal cannabis market at substantial risk.”
It will be interesting to see how the city and state regulates the selling of cannabis products over the next several months.