NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The New York Office of Cannabis Management approved an initiative Thursday that will aim to integrate ex-convicts with cannabis-related offenses into the newly-legal marijuana supply chain.
Applications for dispensary licenses under the Seeding Opportunity Initiative will open March 15, and the state hopes to approve the first round in late summer. The licenses would then be distributed in the fall, paving the way for sales to start by the end of the year.
"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," said Gov. Kathy Hochul. "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."
The initiative creates a category of dispensaries that must be owned by “equity-entrepreneurs” — people with both prior cannabis-related criminal offenses and experience owning and operating a small business.
This subset of dispensaries will be the first to open in New York State under the new plan.
Melissa Moore, a spokesperson for Drug Policy Alliance, lauded the program and said New York's approach to marijuana equity is breaking new ground.
"It goes a lot further than anything we’ve seen in any other state," said Moore. "It has the potential to be a national model."
New York expunged the criminal records of hundreds of thousands of marijuana-related offenders in November of 2021, which could clear the path for some to get loans needed to establish a business.
Additionally, Hochul proposed a $200 million program in her 2023 budget that would provide loans to help “equity-entrepreneurs” open dispensaries.
The board also approved license applications for hemp farmers seeking to grow cannabis for consumption this spring. This was made possible by legislation signed in February in anticipation of coming dispensary openings.
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