New York State is now accepting license applications for retail cannabis dispensaries. Cheddar News breaks the social justice equity qualifications and documents needed to be given priority.

Closing Bell

NY Is Distributing Cannabis Retail Licenses — to Those Who Qualify

Welcome back to closing bell on Cheddar news. Everyone, New york is now accepting applications for its highly coveted adult use cannabis retail dispensaries, regulators expect a license. Winners will be able to kick off sales by the end of the year, marking a long awaited milestone in new york's cannabis market. But not everyone applies for the 1st 150 licenses Here. To break it all down is cheddar, senior reporter Chloe aiello Chloe, good to be with you. So who exactly qualifies for these licenses? Hey Asia, Well, just like you said, not everyone qualifies for these in order to qualify for a conditional adult use retail dispensary license, which is also known as a card license here in new york, you have to meet two very specific criteria. So you have to be justice involved, which means that you have to have a cannabis conviction in new york state prior to the passage of The Marta that legalized cannabis for adult use. Or do you have to have a close family member who has one? And those close family members include a parent spouse, child dependent or legal Guardian. In addition, you have to prove that you have qualifying business experience. That means that you have to have owned at least 10% of a business that turned a profit for at least two years and you have to have been that part owner at that time that it was turning a profit. Um you know, these sound like pretty rigorous requirements, but in spite of that, experts say that there will likely be a lot of qualified applicants for this. Tremaine wright who is the chair of the cannabis control board here in new york state said that she expected the applicant applicant process to be swamped in the very beginning. I also spoke to steve Milito who is an attorney and partner at David, David off future and citron. And he said that especially given new york city's past with rigorous cannabis enforcement in the N. Y. P. D. There are likely to be a lot of folks statewide who have convictions and also have success in business as well. I know one such qualified individual that I had a chance to speak with following a panel organized by weed maps or W. M. Technology is jennifer's are so she was working as a photographer in new york in 2011 And and on the surface she had a very successful career. She was published in outlets like Rolling Stone, she was photographing celebrities and models, but it was an unstable lifestyle and when her daughter who was 17 at the time got sick, she drained her savings trying to care for her. It was then that she turned to cannabis to make ends meet. And while that was going well for a while for her, her soho apartment actually burst into flames. And when the NYPD and the fire department here in new york were investigating the cause of that fire, they discovered her stash. So she was able to dodge jail time with that charge, but she has a felony conviction on her record, which meant that she was essentially blacklisted from her photography gigs. She did sort of get herself back up on her feet. She opened a bar in Hudson, a bar in Los Angeles, which does give her that relevant business qualification that I was mentioning. But this conviction has had a serious impact on her. You know, Jennifer told me that she's 55 years old, she doesn't own any property, she doesn't have health care, she doesn't have a 401K. And it would really mean a lot for her if she was able to turn to the cannabis industry for a new opportunity when this was actually the industry that upended her life uh in the first place. So, really inspiring stuff here. Yeah, such an interesting story. I feel like a movie is developing as you speak Chloe, but I wonder how this will trickle down to specifically persons of color who have faced similar convictions. Um I did mention also the requirements needed and you kind of went through those. So if there's anyone watching right now and they could potentially apply for this, how do they do? So right now? Sure, well, definitely go to new york's uh, you know, cannabis website, which is cannabis dot new york dot gov. Um there it is exactly what documents you need to prove that you have a conviction to prove your relevant business experience. You will need to come up with a business plan and this doesn't have to be something super detailed. But it is important that you establish your financials and who's in a leadership position because of those rigorous requirements. In fact, you know, someone who's justice involved and has that relevant business experience has to have 51% of ownership in a case where they're going in on a business with other non justice involved individuals or if there are multiple, one of them who also has the Business X experience and it's justice involved has to have 31% of that business ownership. In addition, you have to be able to disclose who your other parties of interest are to avoid any monopoly situations. So get that all filed. The application process opened yesterday on the 25th. It closes september 26. So it is urgent to get these applications in as soon as possible. There are only 100 50 of these applications, but, you know, regulators here in new york state are urging people not to get discouraged if they don't get one of, Although there are only 150 of these fast track licenses that will start selling cannabis by the end of the year. There are plenty of opportunities for other types of licenses as well. There will likely be other retail opportunities, you know, things like delivery consumption lounges, all sorts of exciting stuff. And those regulations are expected to roll out this fall, so that's what New Yorkers can be looking out for if you don't qualify now, or if you don't have a chance to get your application process started right now, there are plenty of other opportunities that regulators have their eye on as well.