Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Get ready Western New York, legally licensed recreational cannabis dispensaries are expected be sprouting up in our area in the next couple months.
Maybe even sooner.
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New York's Office of Cannabis Management is expected to approve conditional adult-use recreational dispensary (CAURD) licenses to about 100 of the 300 planned applicant approvals on Mon, April 3rd.
Those licenses could be a part of the 22 licenses that were allocated for applicants in Western New York.
"There were 900 applicants that applied for this (CAURD licensing), and the state is licensing 300. Originally, the plan was 150 dispensaries. They doubled it, and we were originally only going get 11 CAURD licenses, now we're getting 22," explained Aleece Burgio, General Counsel for MJI Solutions.
However, Burgio says the timing is tight as this comes immediately following a recent lift of an injunction which temporarily prohibited state regulators from issuing licenses for cannabis sale in five New York state areas, including Western New York.
"That ban was lifted for the five territories last week, one of them being our territory, which is Western New York. What we hope to see on Monday, but it isn't confirmed yet, is these dispensaries in Western New York that were approved before the injunction happened, finally get licensed this Monday."
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Could Western New York applicants be ready to open a store if they were to be approved? The answer, unfortunately, is not straightforward.
"Originally when these applicants first applied for a CAURD license, there was this notion that it was going to be tied to real estate, that the state would be helping to provide through a loan. That since has been backed up," said Burgio.
"The agency that was originally looking for real estate, has had trouble raising the money to negotiate these leases. At the moment, these new dispensaries don't necessarily get that loan anymore, or have that real estate. They can now go and find their own real estate or they might be doing things for delivery. It's actually very unclear about what happens for these potential licensees in Western New York because if they don't have their own real estate, or they're struggling to get the money from the state to get going, there could be delays."
Even though that funding may not be there right away, there could be operations in Western New York should licensing be approved April 3rd very soon, according to Burgio.
"I guarantee you we will see at least one legalized pop up in the next few months. But really for anybody who is applying as a CAURD license holder that has their own real estate, is ready to go. They could easily be the first in Erie County to start selling."