New York Cannabis Regulatory Overview
New York’s legislature passed cannabis legalization, a bill signed into law by Gov. Cuomo on March 30, 2021. The bill made possession and use legal immediately. The bill also addressed the implementation of an adult-use cannabis market, the expansion of the existing medical cannabis program and includes a social and economic equity program with a goal that 50% of licenses be issued to minority or woman owned business enterprises or distressed farmers or service-disabled veterans.
New York Cannabis License Overview
Overarching “two-tier” structure separating production (cultivation and production of cannabis products) from retail with additional other ownership restrictions aimed at promoting a wide range of participating businesses. The most notable exception to this separation of tiers and licenses is the ability for existing medical cannabis registered organizations, which by law must be vertically integrated, to also serve the adult-use market.
New York will issue 9 types of primary commercial adult-use cannabis licenses: (1) Adult-use Cultivator, (2) Adult-Use Processor, (3) Adult-Use Cooperative, (4) Adult-Use Distributor, (5) Adult-Use Retail Dispensary, (6) Microbusiness, (7) Delivery, (8) Nursery, and (9) Adult-Use On-Site Consumption. In addition, New York will issue additional Special Use cannabis permits that include cannabis trucking, cannabis warehousing, and cannabis packaging.
Notably, the New York cannabis regulators will also provide oversight to the hemp cannabinoid market (including CBD, CBG, delta-8 THC, and all other hemp-derived cannabinoids).
New York Cannabis Key Regulators
New York’s cannabis reform bill established the Office of Cannabis Management governed by the Cannabis Control Board to develop and enforce regulatory frameworks and issue licenses for medical adult-use cannabis, medical cannabis, and cannabinoid hemp.
New York Cannabis Locality Options
Municipalities may opt-out of hosting adult-use dispensaries and/or on-site consumption licenses by passing a local law by December 31, 2021.