New York
The Empire State
Adult-Use Cannabis in New York has been established under the New York State Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). Since sales began in December 2022, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has transformed the framework of Adult-Use, opening access to Multi-State Operators and has establishing new license classifications to aid applicants struggling for site control.
Legislation
The MRTA permits adults 21 years and older to be able to possess a maximum of three ounces of marijuana (or 24 grams of concentrated versions of the cannabis plant) outside of home. On their personal property, adults may have up to five pounds of cannabis plant.
To view the New York MRTA, please click the button below.
Licenses
Below is a simplified list of licenses available to New York applicants:
Nursery
Cultivator
Microbusiness
Processor
Distributor
Retail
Delivery
Cooperative and Collective
On-Site Consumption
Conditional Licenses
Provisional Licenses
For further clarification on New York’s various license types and requirements, please click the button below.
Timeline
March 31, 2021: Effective on this date is the decriminalization of cannabis in New York State. Active immediately, the decriminalization aspect of the MRTA removes penalties for possession and automatically expunges low-level marijuana convictions that would be considered legal under the bill.
October 2021: The official selections of the Cannabis Control Board have been selected and officially approved. The Board Chair is Tremaine Wright, and the following Board Members are Jessica Garcia, Reuben R. McDaniel III, Jen Metzger, Adam W. Perry and Chris Alexander.
October 5, 2021: The first public meeting for the Board and the OCM occurred. The appointment of Jason Starr as Chief Equity Officer was set, and it was approved that the transfer of certain functions and employees from the Department of Health was made to the Office of Cannabis Management.
December 31, 2021: This was the deadline for cities, towns, and villages had until to opt-out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries or consumption site licenses. They cannot opt-out of general access to adult-use.
March 2022: Governor Hochul announces the inaugural Seeding Opportunity Initiative, a program that positions individuals with prior cannabis-related offenses to be among the first adult-use cannabis sales with products grown by New York farmers. This initiative was made to make sales in New York possible before the end of the year, starts-up New York’s Cannabis Industry, and guarantees support for future equity applicants.
August 2022: New York opens it’s first cannabis application round for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) Licenses. The businesses awarded this license (licensees) will be the first to sell adult-use cannabis in New York State and gain access/support from the Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund. Licenses will be approved by the Board and issued by the Office. The round closed in September 2022.
November 2022: The Cannabis Control Board Approves 28 Licenses for Business Owners with a Cannabis Conviction or a Family Member with a Cannabis Conviction, and approves 8 for Nonprofit Organizations, making a total of the first 36 applicant approvals from the CAURD program.
December 2022: The first sales for Adult-Use cannabis began for New York’s market, through the commerce of CAURD Licensees.
August 2023: The NY OCM has halted the awarding new cannabis business licenses due to a lawsuit filed with the state’s Supreme Court claiming that the Office had made errors in handling social equity for Disabled-Veterans. The outcome of this legal situation is still developing, more information about how this impacts applicants and entrepreneurs will be available soon.
October 2023: The OCM announced the emergence of Adult-Use Universal Applications. New York’s inaugural licensing round for all interested in applying for Adult-Use licensing is open, but it will promptly close on December 18, 2023 for those interested in Cultivator, Processor, or Distributor licenses, so get moving quickly if entities need to be formed. Retail dispensaries and microbusinesses that can prove site control will be able to have the OCM process their applications starting November 17, 2023.
As more market updates come in, we will update this Timeline. For more information on New York’s Cannabis Industry, please click the button below.