As 435 of New York’s social equity cannabis retail businesses are still being held hostage under a court order, a judge granted exemptions Oct. 6 to free five licensees from an injunction.

State Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bryant signed off on the exemption orders as part of a lawsuit filed Aug. 2 by four service-disabled veterans who argue the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) violated state law in its exclusion of licensing opportunities for them and other groups. As a result, the already slow adult-use cannabis program rollout has been at a standstill for the past two months.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Bryant issued an order preventing 440 Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) that had yet to open under the state’s Seeding Opportunity Initiative from moving forward with their business plans. At that time, there were 18 storefront and five delivery-only retailers to serve New York’s adult-use cannabis market, which is where the program has stood since.

But now under Bryant’s Oct. 6 exemptions, that footprint can essentially grow from 23 to 28 retail operators. The five CAURD businesses that received permission to operate include:

• Kush Culture Industry LLC (d/b/a Terp Bros) in Queens;
• ConBud LLC in Manhattan;
• Air City Cannabis LLC in Mohawk Valley;
• Gotham Buds LLC in Manhattan; and
• North Country Roots Inc. in the North Country region.

After Bryant initially filed a court order Aug. 7 blocking state regulators from awarding new licenses or approving additional dispensary openings, he decided on Aug. 18 that he would grant exemptions on a case-by-case basis for individual licensees, upon proof that these individual licensees met all requirements for licensing from state and local municipalities, including site plan approvals, prior to Aug. 7. 

The OCM, as a respondent/defendant in the case, originally named 30 CAURD licensees Aug. 22 whom the office viewed as eligible for the exemptions through meeting the specific requirements outlined by the court (including the five companies listed above). Roughly a week later, Bryant ruled that the proof for the 30 licensees had not yet been met.

Now, with the Oct. 6 order, Bryant has officially provided the green light for five CAURD licensees to launch their retail operations as the others are still being considered.

In each of the five orders, Bryant wrote: “This court has reviewed the submissions from both plaintiff and respondent regarding the proposed licensee, in particular, the affidavit indicating that the applicant has complied with all applicable requirements for licenses and, although not required by OCM, the further affidavits indicating that inspections have been completed and have confirmed that the location complies with all public health and safety requirements and is ready to become fully operational without significant further construction or expenditures.”

Although as many as 28 CAURD licensees could soon be operational, the other 435 may still be on the sidelines when the OCM begins awarding new licenses as soon as December, undermining the state’s original intention of providing social equity licensees equal opportunity in the adult-use marketplace.