Federal Judge Blocks New York Regulators From Issuing Pot Shop Licenses
High Times

A federal judge in New York has issued a temporary injunction barring the state from issuing licenses for cannabis retailers in five regions after a Michigan-based business filed a lawsuit challenging the process for awarding the highly coveted permits. U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe issued the injunction on Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by Variscite NY One Inc., a company that was denied a retail dispensary license by the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). In August, the OCM announced that the first Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses would be issued to companies headed by individuals with past convictions for marijuana-related crimes. Regulators are currently processing applications, with plans for the retail sales of adult-use cannabis to begin before the end of the year. Successful applicants will receive aid from a $200 million Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, which was created to help finance the leasing and outfitting of up to 150 recreational marijuana dispensaries across the state. “We think that leaning into folks who are not only justice-involved, but have that business experience means that we’re going to find a bunch of applicants who have gone through some significant challenges to still open and operate successful businesses,” OCM executive director Chris Alexander told Politico when the policy was announced. “We just took a different approach.” Dispensary Licenses Reserved For Those With Weed Convictions To qualify for a cannabis retail license, applicants must be based in New York, as evidenced by a personal or corporate address included on the application. Additionally, a principal applicant or relative must have been convicted of a cannabis-related offense in New York. Those who were arrested but not convicted and those with federal or out-of-state convictions are not eligible. Variscite is majority owned by Kenneth Gay, who was convicted of…

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Source : Federal Judge Blocks New York Regulators From Issuing Pot Shop Licenses

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