The Center Square by Christian Wade
After a legal challenge from a group veterans, a New York judge halted the issuance of new cannabis licenses in a program which favors those with prior drug charges.
While the legal case is being litigated, the ruling of Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant prevents the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) from granting or processing new adult-use recreational licenses for dispensaries, as well as processing any existing ones.
The move comes as a response to a suit filed by a group disabled veterans who claim that the current system for awarding and granting licenses to social equity applicants is in violation of the Constitution of the state.
Priority is given to entrepreneurs who have a cannabis conviction in the past or their immediate families. Cannabis licenses are available to nonprofit groups who work with ex-prisoners.
The veterans claim in court documents that the regulators have usurped the authority of the state legislature by changing rules that require “the initial adult use cannabis retail dispensary licence application period to be open for all applicants simultaneously.”
The claim is that the regulators did not adhere to New York Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, by refusing to issue licenses to disabled veterans and other minorities who they believe should be eligible.
Fatima Afia is an attorney with Rudick Law Group who represents veterans. She says that individuals like service-disabled vets, who are social equity applicants and should be given priority under the MRTA (the marijuana regulation taxation law), the plaintiffs argue that they have been harmed because they were left out of the first mover’s advantage.
The lawsuit is the latest blow for the state’s plan to launch a recreational cannabis industry. This has been delayed in part by a suit alleging that the state regulations gave New York residents a preference when it came to pot licenses.
In May, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that New York could begin granting operating licenses for pot businesses in the majority of regions of the state.
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New York will legalize recreational cannabis by 2021, under legislation signed into law by the former governor. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, allowed cultivation and retail sales as well as establishing a taxation and regulatory system for the new cannabis industry. State regulators report that about 20 retail marijuana shops have opened to date.
State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, (D), who chairs Senate Subcommittee on Cannabis said he was disappointed by the decision of the judge to halt the issuance of new cannabis licenses until the legal challenge is resolved.
He said that it was no secret that New York’s adult-use marijuana rollout had been slower than anticipated. Now is not the right time to block progress. “We must concentrate on awarding licenses that are not conditional, as this will allow for more businesses to be opened and prioritize social equity candidates.”
The Center Square published this story first.
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