New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) has approved 114 new cannabis licences as part of the second round of licensing.
On Friday (March 22), the board of the CCB voted to approve the new licences after receiving around 7000 applications, including 4300 for dispensaries, during the latest licensing window, which ended in December 2023.
Of the newly issued licences 45 were dispensaries, 31 were for microbusinesses, and 38 were non-conditional adult-use permits. The meeting also saw the board vote to renew 17 permits for cannabis testing labs.
Last month, a further 25 retail and 26 microbusiness licences were approved.
The meeting came amid growing pressure on the CCB and the Office for Cannabis Management (OCM), with reports emerging last week that Governor Kathy Hochul had launched a ‘top down’ internal review of the latter.
This review was called in response to major frustrations about the establishment of New York’s adult-use cannabis market, which has been mired by a plethora of lawsuits and has placed a number of legitimate businesses in financial jeopardy due to its slow and often poorly handled rollout.
In an effort to offer some respite to New York’s cannabis cultivators, the CCB also voted to waive cultivator licensing fees, which cost anywhere from $4,500 to $40,000, for two years.
While 146 cultivation licenses were approved in 2022, with more following in the subsequent months, the snail’s pace of licensing meant that they had just 20 dispensaries to sell to for the majority of 2023.
Following the latest round of licensing, 87 licensed retailers are now operating in the state. However, it’s now estimated that there are over 2000 illicit stores in operation.
