New York Marijuana Business Licenses
Status: In New York, all individuals with a legal prescription may possess and use medical marijuana. State licensed businesses may grow, process, transport, and dispense medical marijuana.
| CBD Program | Medical Program | Recreational Program | Are Applications Open? |
| Legal | Legal | Legal | closed |
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Number of New York Marijuana Business Licenses Licenses Available
| Dispensaries | Cultivation | Manufacturing/Processing | Transportation |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
You can read the full text of the New York Marijuana Business Licenses law at: www.nysenate.gov
Proposed New York Adult-Use Cannabis License Guidelines
S 854-A, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, establishes the following adult-use cannabis licenses will become available:
- Adult-use cultivator license
- Adult-use processor license
- Adult-use cooperative license
- Adult-use distributor license
- Adult-use retail dispensary license
- Microbusiness license
- Delivery license
- Nursery license
- Adult-use on-site consumption license
Application Fees: The new Office of Cannabis Management would be responsible for determining the associated application and licensing fees and would be tasked with drafting the rules and regulations to govern cannabis businesses.
Local Regulation: Local municipalities (cities, towns, and villages) would have until December 31, 2021 or nine months after the bill taking effect, whichever is later, to opt out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses within their borders. Local municipalities would be able to regulate the time, place, and manner of cannabis operations through local zoning ordinances.
Timeline: The tax structure of the bill wouldn’t take effect until April 1, 2022, which would seem to be the absolute earliest legal sales could begin. We anticipate the OCM making business regulations and license applications available within the first quarter of 2022.
For a complete breakdown of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act and how to prepare for cannabis business license applications, download our New York Application Guide & Checklist.
RECOMMENDED NEW YORK MARIJUANA BUSINESS PLANS FOR ADULT-USE MARIJUANA LICENSE:
- New York Application Guide & Checklist
- Marijuana Business Plan Package
- Business & Operations Plan Template
- Cultivation Plan Template
- Manufacturing/Processing Plan Template
- Environmental Plan Template
- Financial Plan Template
- Fire Safety Plan Template
- Inventory Control Plan Template
- Patient Education Plan Template
- Patient Recordkeeping Plan Template
- Product Safety Plan Template
- Security Plan Template
- Staffing Plan Template
- Suitability of Proposed Facility Plan Template
- Transportation Plan Template
New York Medical Marijuana Registered Organization License Guidelines
A registered organization shall be a for-profit business entity or not-for-profit corporation organized for the purpose of acquiring, possessing, manufacturing, selling, delivering, transporting, distributing or dispensing marihuana for certified medical use. The deadline to submit an application to become a registered organization with the Department of Health was June 5, 2015. The Department of Health (DOH) received 43 applications from businesses interested in becoming registered organizations to manufacture and dispense medical marijuana under the Compassionate Care Act. The law provides for the initial registration of up to five organizations in New York State and allows the Commissioner to register additional organizations in the future. Each registered organization may operate up to four dispensing facilities statewide, for an initial total of up to 20 geographically-dispersed dispensing facilities.
RECOMMENDED NEW YORK MARIJUANA BUSINESS PLANS FOR REGISTERED ORGANIZATON LICENSE:
- New York Application Guide & Checklist
- Marijuana Business Plan Package
- Business & Operations Plan Template
- Cultivation Plan Template
- Manufacturing/Processing Plan Template
- Environmental Plan Template
- Financial Plan Template
- Fire Safety Plan Template
- Inventory Control Plan Template
- Patient Education Plan Template
- Patient Recordkeeping Plan Template
- Product Safety Plan Template
- Security Plan Template
- Staffing Plan Template
- Suitability of Proposed Facility Plan Template
- Transportation Plan Template
The History of New York Marijuana Business Licenses Marijuana
Medical:
On July 2014, a bill (S7923) signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo legalized medical marijuana use for patients with qualifying conditions. Only five registered organizations were allowed by law and were awarded in August of 2015. The licensee holders are allowed to open 4 dispensaries each, totaling to 20 locations in the whole state.
On July 12, 2018, Department of Health officials published emergency regulations for an opioid replacement policy, adding “any condition for which an opioid could be prescribed as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana,” to the list. The Department of Health also opened the door to home delivery regulation.
Qualifying Medical Conditions: Cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord tissue damage, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn’s disease), neuropathies, Huntington’s Disease, and any condition for which an opioid could be prescribed.
Recreational:
In 2018, the New York Department of Health backed legalizing marijuana for recreational use in a report to Governor Andrew Cuomo. The 75-page report ultimately concluded that the pros outweigh the cons for legalization.
A series of 15 separate statewide listening sessions on regulated marijuana was held in the state during September and October of 2018. Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed his plan to legalize recreational marijuana on January 15, 2019. Cuomo included his plan in his state budget proposal, which calls to enact the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act. The Act would establish a Bureau of Marijuana Policy as the regulating department which would be responsible for licensing and regulating all marijuana businesses.
However, in March 2019, Cuomo removed the marijuana legalization language from his state budget proposal. Although a recreational marijuana bill was then introduced in hopes of passing before the end of the 2019 legislative session, the bill failed to move forward as lawmakers couldn’t come to a consensus on a few key topics. Lawmakers will most likely pick up the issue next legislative session.
On January 21, 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo included marijuana legalization in his budget proposal setting the stage for another reform push in the legislature as the 2020 session gets underway.
On April 3, 2020, as the deadline came for state lawmakers to finalize the state budget, they made the decision to remove marijuana legalization to address the coronavirus pandemic. However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also stated that he still expects lawmakers to push ahead with plans to legalize marijuana through legislation.
On January 19, 2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo again included cannabis legalization in his state budget proposal by calling to enact the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act. The act would legalize cannabis and establish a regulated system for the production and sale of cannabis to adult consumers 21 years and older. A new Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board would be responsible for licensing and regulating businesses to service the market. The proposal then went through a series of votes, amendments, and more discussions.
On March 24, 2021, news broke that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers reached an agreement on a cannabis legalization bill. The proposal was re-filed as S 854-A, known as the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, and you can view the full bill here. Votes were quickly held to pass the bill and on March 31, 2021, New York became the 16th state to legalize adult-use cannabis as Gov. Cuomo signed it into law.