New York’s embattled Cannabis Control Board (CCB) is set to significantly expand the state’s legal cannabis market today as it expects to approve 110 new licenses.
The CCB is scheduled to hold a public meeting today at Hudson Valley Community College, marking the first meeting since it controversially cancelled a January 24 meeting at the very last minute.
While many had expected the CCB to issue around 400 retail licenses at the initial meeting in January, an agenda published before its eventual cancellation showed that in fact only three retailers, along with five cultivators, two microbusinesses, and three processors, were due to receive licenses.
According to Green Market Report points out, today’s meeting is expected to see 38 retailers, 24 cultivators, 27 microbusinesses, 12 processors and nine distributors receive licenses.
However, 13 of these retailers are understood to have locations too close to other cannabis shops, meaning they are likely to only be awarded ‘provisional licenses’, giving them 12 months to find an alternative location.
It comes amid increasing pressure on the state’s regulators to speed up the licensing process, which Governor Kathy Hochul recently described as a disaster.
Just 65 retail licences have been granted so far, despite more than 4,300 retail applications being filed last year, alongside a around 7000 business license requests overall.
