MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — NOTE: The video above includes credits to NY Cannabis Insider which was the first to report on a letter sent by downstate licensees to the state.
The Cannabis Control Board approved 10 new conditional cannabis licenses Thursday for the Western New York region, bringing the total number of licensees to 14.
Last month, the first four licenses were awarded in WNY after a judge lifted an injunction that prevented state regulators from doing so.
This latest batch of 50 CAURD licensees includes 45 in previously enjoined regions, including the 10 in Western New York. This brings the total number of conditional adult-use retail dispensary licenses issued from 165 to 215.
Central New York was approved for eight new licensees. The Finger Lakes is still barred pending the result of a lawsuit.gui
Despite the increasing number of licensees, as of Thursday, there are only ten CAURD dispensaries operating statewide. CAURD is the state's justice-involved program meant to empower those with previous cannabis convictions.
The licensee recipients include:
- Empire State Gallery Holdings, LLC out of Brooklyn
- Nickel City Green, LLC out of Buffalo
- OCC WNY Ventures from West Valley in Catt. Co.
- EK Green LLC from the Buffalo-area
- Canary Cannabis Co. LLC out of Rochester
- ERIETREEHOUSE CORPORATION out of Syracuse
- Devil's Lettuce LLC from Tonawanda
- Coronado LLC. out of Buffalo
- New York Finest Luxury Car & Limousince Service LLC from Yonkers
- Bradley | Kyler DBA Herbal I.Q.
The board also discussed several changes to existing regulations which will now enter a 45-day public comment period.
One such change involves guidelines for how medical cannabis providers can transition into the recreational space. Two others deal with finances and ownership.
Controlling the concentration of certain products like jam and maple syrup amounted to fervent discussion Thursday. These products don't inherently have a serving cap as compared to a pack of gummies where 100MG of THC can be evenly divided.
Chairwoman Tremaine Wright expressed concern about setting a concentration level that would make these products viable and not too weak to even consider. Board member, Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins agreed and compared this to selling a liter of vodka.
"We can't control how much someone drinks," Jenkins said.
Additional revisions about microbusinesses and cultivator licensing, on-site consumption, and energy usage were also moved forward for public comment.