SYRACUSE (TNS) — The Office of Cannabis Management Friday announced the rules governing retail delivery, in addition to announcing the state’s first cannabis dispensary operators will now be allowed to secure their own locations — a 180-degree turn from earlier this year, when the agency said these business owners would be required to take a location provided by The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY).
The move comes as DASNY is facing increased scrutiny over its ability to secure 150 locations around the state for the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program and raise the money to support it.
Under the CAURD program, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office tasked DASNY with finding, securing and retrofitting 150 turnkey spots — from Long Island to Western New York — to eventually turn over to licensees who’ve been impacted by the War on Drugs. This is part of the state’s effort to help mitigate that injustice.
However, the money to build out those locations is dependent on the state’s Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, and the people DASNY picked to manage that fund — NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber, his business partner Lavetta Willis, and a team at investment banking firm Siebert Williams Shank — have apparently not raised any of that money.
As a result, it seems the OCM is moving ahead on its own.
The agency “informed qualifying business CAURD provisional licensees that they can submit for approval their own proposed location for their retail store and may still qualify for financial support for renovations” from the social equity fund, according to an OCM press release.
“DASNY will continue the work of securing retail locations and locations will be matched with licensees as they become available,” the statement said.
“In one way it’s good, it gives us more freedom,” said Mike Golden, who applied for CAURD under his business, The Higher Calling. “Some people already have locations, and can get started quicker.”
“But this process has been frustrating,” he said. “Trying to plan for it, trying to adjust for it … we put our realtor on pause.”
So to hear today’s news, he said, “It’s like – ‘Really?’ We could’ve had some things in motion.”
Also in Friday’s announcement are the rules governing retail delivery. According to the release, the OCM is allowing:
The temporary delivery authorization will apply to all dispensary licensees and requires they adhere to all public health and safety regulations.
However, it’s unclear how customers are going to make payments online, since DASNY has also not yet awarded a contract to a vendor capable of supplying a point-of-sale system to these licensees.
