‘I’m more broke than since I was 18.’ Cannabis Licensees Bemoan State’s Slow Rollout

The spring of 2022 brought hope to people who had served time for drug offenses and who wanted to start a state-sanctioned marijuana business. A year after legalizing pot, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management began offering those previously convicted of a cannabis-related offense, or their relatives, priority access to the emerging market through retail licenses, known as “CAURDs” (<a href="https://cannabis.ny.gov/caurd-faq" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries</a>). Their optimism, however, was short-lived. More than a year after the program’s inception, nearly 500 licenses were granted statewide, but only<a href="https://cannabis.ny.gov/dispensary-location-verification" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"> 23 dispensaries</a> have opened. And on Wednesday, applications for cannabis dispensaries will open to the general public. <a href="https://medium.com/labor-new-york/im-more-broke-than-i-ve-been-since-i-was-18-cannabis-licensees-bemoan-the-state-s-slow-rollout-f71d8fd10a12">Read More</a>