New York regulators have extended the application window by two weeks for hundreds of marijuana business licenses.
The state’s Cannabis Control Board at a meeting Tuesday pushed the deadline to apply for non-provisional retail and microbusiness licenses to Nov. 17, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The deadline for all other licenses, including cultivation and processing, was extended until Dec. 18.
While the extension will benefit countless operators, the added time also presents new financial challenges for cash-strapped entrepreneurs, according to cannabis attorney Lauren Rudick.
“More time will hopefully inspire a diverse slate of applicants and reduce barriers to entry, but for those applicants who are already carrying real estate or otherwise burning cash, further delays are troubling,” the founder of New York-based Rudick Law Group told MJBizDaily via email.
This licensing process will prioritize social and economic equity (SEE) applicants, which include those “from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of past prohibition, minority- and women-owned businesses, distressed farmers, and service-disabled veterans.”
Regulators have encouraged Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licensees and applicants to apply during the extended window.
The OCM plans to issue as many as 1,500 licenses for cultivation, retail, processing and microbusinesses.
The vast majority – between 500 and 1,000 – are designated for marijuana retailers.
Most CAURD holders and applicants have been in a holding pattern after an August ruling by a New York judge that halted all business applications and approvals to open adult-use stores in the state.
Meanwhile, the OCM has launched a statewide outreach initiative to help entrepreneurs apply for CAURD licenses, with stops planned in Albany, Brooklyn, Harlem and other locations.
New York regulators also recently announced the planned openings of four adult-use stores in Harlem and the Lower East Side in Manhattan as well as Queens and Saranac Lake plus a delivery operation in Rome.
Chris Casacchia can be reached at chris.casacchia@mjbizdaily.com.
