By: Benyamin Davidsons
On Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new initiative that will help businesses apply for a license to sell cannabis. As reported by Crain’s NY, the Mayor said the city will be offering free technical assistance for businesses wishing to apply for a license. Through Cannabis NYC, a division of the Department of Small Business Services, it will also offer educational webinars as well as the tech support. The application period for entrepreneurs looking to enter the state’s new legal adult-use cannabis market begins this week on Thursday. The classes and support will be offered from August 25 through September 26, corresponding with the initial application period for state Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses. The Cannabis NYC portal will also feature opportunities for networking and ways for aspiring marijuana sales entrepreneurs to gain more access to funding, as per the mayor’s office.
Mayor Adams also reiterated that during the selection process, the city will give priority to applicants who carry previous convictions for state marijuana-related offenses. “This is about creating good jobs, successful small businesses, and finally delivering equity to communities harmed by the ‘War on Drugs,’” Adams said. “Cannabis NYC will plant the seeds for the economy of tomorrow.” As per Crain’s, Mayor Adam’s office estimated that sales of adult-use cannabis in NYC will hit $1.3 billion in 2023. The office added that the legalized industry will help add between 19,000 and 24,000 jobs over the next three years within the five boroughs of NYC.
The state’s Office of Cannabis Management has made similar statements regarding prioritizing applicants who were formerly involved in drug-related convictions. The state office said it anticipates the process to be “competitive.” In March 2021, former Governor Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers approved the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, legalizing recreational marijuana use and sales for adults 21 and older. That’s also when the Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board were created to help implement a regulatory framework and to regulate sales of adult-use of cannabis in NYS.
The state expects the first legal dispensaries to open by the end of the year, Crain’s reported. The state estimated that tax revenue taken in by the agency would begin at $83 million in 2021 and rise to $300 million when fully implemented in 2023. “New York State is making history, launching a first-of-its-kind approach to the cannabis industry that takes a major step forward in righting the wrongs of the past,” Governor Hochul said. “The regulations advanced by the Cannabis Control Board today will prioritize local farmers and entrepreneurs, creating jobs and opportunity for communities that have been left out and left behind. I’m proud New York will be a national model for the safe, equitable and inclusive industry we are now building.”
“Once underground, the cannabis industry is coming into the light,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. “The legalization of cannabis is an opportunity for us to undo the damage caused by years of disproportionate mass incarceration and prosecution of Black and Hispanic New Yorkers who have suffered under unfair drug laws and policies for years.”
