A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit that has placed a blockade on New York’s legal cannabis market, paving the way for hundreds of new pot shops to open.
The settlement is expected to bring an end to an injunction that has ground the rollout of licensed weed shops to a halt and prevented any new licenses from being issued. It puts to rest two lawsuits that loomed over the state’s budding cannabis industry for months.
The lawsuit was brought by service-disabled veterans who accused the state of overstepping its authority by only opening up licenses to those directly impacted by a marijuana conviction. Another suit, filed by a coalition of medical cannabis companies, was later added to the veterans’ suit.
The four disabled veterans, Carmine Fiore, William Norgard, Steve Mejia and Dominic Spaccio, will each get expedited retail licensees and site protection as part of the settlement.
The settlement also includes a stop on the issuance of new CAURD licenses — licenses awarded specifically to those impacted by the War on Drugs — until April, although it allows those with licenses already issued to move forward with their stores.
The agreement was filed in court Tuesday after being approved in an emergency meeting the day before by the state’s Cannabis Control Board. The settlement didn’t determine which side’s claims were right or wrong — leaving the door open to future litigation.
Judge Kevin Bryant is expected to give the agreement the green light, finally bringing an end to three months of waiting for over 400 licensees who haven’t been able to move their businesses forward during the injunction. The litigation has stymied the industry by placing an injunction on any new stores from opening and any new licenses from being issued since early August.
There are currently just 26 shops in the state that sell cannabis legally — many of the rest are selling pot without a license, and the state has been limited in its ability to control the spread of unlicensed stores.
Ahead of the settlement, Bryant allowed a handful of exceptions to the injunction, allowing dispensaries in Queens and Harlem to open. However, most of the hundreds of licensees weren’t so lucky, and instead were forced to wait as the legal mess unfurled.
Barry Williams for New York Daily News
Patrons browse the marijuana dispensary, Gotham Buds, in Harlem on Wednesday, Oct. 18 in Manhattan, New York. There are currently just 26 shops in the state that sell cannabis legally. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)
Service-disabled veterans will now get benefits, like extra help through the application process and business support services — as well as a dedicated task force and campaign aimed to get more veterans in the cannabis market.
“Today, we are one step closer to resolving litigation brought forth by equity entrepreneurs and our medical operators who felt that they were being left behind,” said Chris Alexander, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management, in a statement Monday.
“Now that we have opened up licensing to all equity entrepreneurs and provided a clear pathway to participation in the adult-use market for our medical operators, we are able to continue to move this program forward together.”
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