New York to Issue First Retail Licenses To People Who Had Cannabis Convictions

2.4 min readPublished On: March 11th, 2022By

NEW YORK–New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated on Thursday that the first licenses to open the newly authorized cannabis retail stores coming to the state later this year will be reserved for those with prior cannabis-related crimes.

The proposal, which was adopted by the state’s Cannabis Control Board earlier in the day, aims to provide people who were imprisoned under the drug’s prohibition the first chance to gain from its legalization, ahead of U.S. firms looking to profit from a lucrative new retail market.

When the state legislature voted to legalize cannabis in March 2021, some Democrats pointed out that laws prohibiting the possession and sale of cannabis disproportionately targeted Black and Latino users, despite the fact that white New Yorkers consumed cannabis at similar rates.

In a statement the Governor claimed the policy was “righting past wrongs.”

“Today’s Cannabis Control Board regulations will prioritize local farmers and entrepreneurs, generating jobs and opportunity for communities that have been left out and behind,” she said in a statement.

After California, New York is the second-largest U.S. state to legalize cannabis for adults over the age of 21. Sixteen other states have legalized recreational cannabis, defying federal law that still outlaws the use of cannabis.

The state’s initial 100 to 200 cannabis retail licenses will go to “social equity” candidates, such as New York individuals with cannabis-related offenses or their immediate family members who can demonstrate business expertise. They will be able to do so because of the licenses.

The permits will allow them to sell cannabis grown by New York farmers in stores that are expected to open by the end of the year.

According to Chris Alexander, executive director of the cannabis board, about a million people have been jailed in New York for cannabis offenses in the last 20 years. 

Almost all of those arrested were for minor infractions.

He explained, “That’s the person getting arrested for a single joint or a small baggie.”

Advocates for legalization said that prohibition damaged New Yorkers in a variety of ways, in addition to time spent in jail and prison.

“Cannabis prohibition primarily targeted specific classes of individuals,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy organization.

According to Frederique, convictions made New Yorkers ineligible for federal student loans and made it more difficult to get work or start a business. 

Because of cannabis convictions, some New Yorkers have been evicted from their homes, some parents have lost custody of their children, and some immigrants have been deported

The policy is still subject to public feedback, but state authorities anticipate issuing the first permits by the fall. 

New York farmers will be the initial suppliers of the new stores, according to the cannabis board.

Hochul has also requested lawmakers to approve a $200 million budget to lease and remodel New York storefronts that “social equity” licensees can use to operate cannabis businesses.

Main Image: Kathy Hochul

About the Author: HCN News Team

The News Team at Highly Capitalized are some of the most experienced writers in cannabis and psychedelics business & finance. We cover capital markets, finance, branding, marketing and everything important in between. Most of all, we follow the money.

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